Children born of genocidal rape: What do we know about their experiences and needs?

Abstract

Background An often under addressed and tragic legacy of genocide is the conception of children from rape. While the experience has been documented from their mothers' perspective, the perspectives and needs of individuals born of genocidal rape has been under‐studied. Methods We conducted an integrative review of all peer‐reviewed articles that reported on studies conducted among individuals born of genocidal rape published through 2020. We used an inductive process to identify and describe the themes from those studies. Results Twelve studies met the inclusion criteria. Ten articles reported on youth born of genocidal rape in Rwanda aged between 16 and 21 years, and two articles represented the perspective of adolescents in the former Yugoslavia aged 1416 years. Four themes were indentified: (1) birth origin stories associated with the crime of the father, (2) fractured sense of belonging to the victim‐mother, perpetrator‐father, their families, and the community at large, (3) intergenerational legacy of trauma and family identity, and (4) strategies to move forward including knowing the truth about one's origin, mental health, and peer support. Conclusion These findings suggest that understanding increased risk of adverse health outcomes of youth born of genocidal rape could inform the design of evidence‐based interventions for these and similar populations.

Associations between duration of first trimester intrauterine exposure to genocide against the Tutsi and health outcomes in adulthood

“…These findings therefore suggest that the prenatal stress endured by these individuals is severe and unrelenting and thus not reducible to the 89‐day duration of the genocide itself. Indeed, the consequences of being conceived by genocidal rape persist into childhood and adulthood (Erjavec & Volčič, 2010a; Erjavec & Volčič, 2010b; Uwizeye et al, 2022). Our previous findings indicated that these young adults had significantly worse health outcomes than those who were not conceived via genocidal rape (Uwizeye et al, 2021).…”

“…Rape in the context of genocide is used as a tool to disappear a racial or ethnic group, and specifically in Rwanda, Hutu extremists used genocidal rape to humiliate the Tutsi and induce a painful death for the victims (Mukamana & Brysiewicz, 2008; Nowrojee, 1996). Both the primary rape victim and her child conceived by that rape experienced lasting trauma, isolation, and discrimination, beyond the pregnancy itself (Uwizeye et al, 2022). In our 2021 study, those adults conceived by genocidal rape had higher adverse childhood experiences scores (ACEs), reflective of the stigma and trauma reported by adult children conceived via genocidal rape to continue into adulthood (Erjavec & Volčič, 2010a; Uwizeye et al, 2022).…”

“…Both the primary rape victim and her child conceived by that rape experienced lasting trauma, isolation, and discrimination, beyond the pregnancy itself (Uwizeye et al, 2022). In our 2021 study, those adults conceived by genocidal rape had higher adverse childhood experiences scores (ACEs), reflective of the stigma and trauma reported by adult children conceived via genocidal rape to continue into adulthood (Erjavec & Volčič, 2010a; Uwizeye et al, 2022). In our study, we found a significant interaction between prenatal exposure to genocidal rape and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) when predicting depression, physical function, pain intensity, and pain interference (Uwizeye et al, 2021).…”

“…We propose three within‐group hypotheses, listed in descending order of proposed severity of exposure:Hypothesis Within the genocidal rape group , we hypothesize that the impact of the duration of first trimester exposure to genocide on adult health outcomes among those conceived via genocidal rape will be weak or even absent, for reasons related to both pre‐ and post‐natal stress exposures. Prenatally, for women who became pregnant because of genocidal rape, the stigma, shame, and stress they experienced due to the sexual trauma perpetrated by an enemy persisted beyond the conception, affecting them and their fetus throughout gestation (Mukamana & Brysiewicz, 2008; Uwizeye et al, 2022). Postnatally and throughout childhood, their offspring experienced significantly more adverse childhood experiences, independently predicting poorer health outcomes (Uwizeye et al, 2021).…”

Measuring Youth Perceptions of Being Known and Loved and Positive Youth Development: Cross-National Findings from Rwanda and El Salvador

“…Many of the children and adolescents who survived the 1994 genocide—now raising the next generation—are victims of rape, torture, starvation, mutilation, and emotional abuse, have lost at least one of their family members, and/or have witnessed violence, injury, or killing. The physical and emotional trauma parents suffer lead to negative indirect impacts on the lives of Rwandese youth (see Uwizeye et al, 2022 ) and, as well, studies demonstrate the intergenerational transmission of this trauma (see Kahn & Denov, 2022 ).…”