Trauma and perceived social rejection among Yazidi women and girls who survived enslavement and genocide

Abstract

BackgroundIn August 2014, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a terrorist organization, attacked the Yazidi’s ancestral homeland in northwestern Iraq. Among other atrocities, they abducted thousands of women and girls and traded many of them into sexual slavery. The aim of this study is to determine the mental health of women and girl survivors of these events in relation to enslavement and experiences with genocide-related events, as well as perceived social rejection in their community.MethodsBetween February and July 2017, trained local assessors interviewed a sample of 416 Yazidi women and girls (65 of whom had survived sexual enslavement), aged between 17 and 75 years, and living in internally displaced person camps in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression symptoms were assessed using validated Kurdish versions of standard instruments. Scales for trauma exposure and perceived rejection were developed for the purpose of this study.ResultsParticipants reported a high number of traumatic events. More than 80% of girls and women, and almost all participants who were formerly enslaved, met criteria for a probable DSM-5 PTSD diagnosis. Trauma exposure and enslavement predicted poor mental health. In addition, among formerly enslaved girls and women, perceived social rejection in their community mediated the relationship between traumatic enslavement events and depression symptoms.ConclusionsIn a context of maximum adversity, enslavement and war-related events contribute to high levels of PTSD and depression. Perceived social rejection seems to play a role in the relationship between trauma exposure and mental health among abducted genocide survivors. Providing psychosocial support and treatment for Yazidi people is essential and urgently required.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12916-018-1140-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Association of War-Related and Gender-Based Violence With Mental Health States of Yazidi Women

“…This indicates that IPV is a common issue The adverse health consequences of violence against women in general are well known, 49 and detrimental health states have previously been documented for Yazidi women survivors of ISIS enslavement. 36,38,50 Our results add to this evidence by indicating that GBV may affect women's health above and beyond the associations of intense war violence experiences. The negative mental health effects of IPV have been shown for women across the world, 51 including women living in postconflict settings.…”

Measures of depression, generalized anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorders amongst Yazidi female survivors of ISIS slavery and violence

“…To date, there has been a number of investigations that have demonstrated that the ISIS captivity and sexual slavery led to both immediate and long-term consequences for the mental health of the Yazidi women and girl survivors [ 13 , 14 ]. Placing these experiences into the cultural and religious framework of the Yazidis, where any sexual contact or marriage outside the caste or with non-Yazidis is forbidden [ 1 ], it is clear that one of the most tragic outcomes being suicide may be related to the notion that some of these survivors killed themselves in order not to live with the supposed “dishonor” [ 1 ].…”

The efficacy of Narrative Exposure Therapy for Children (KIDNET) as a treatment for traumatized young refugees versus treatment as usual: study protocol for a multi-center randomized controlled trial (YOURTREAT)

“…Adverse and potentially traumatic experiences including family and intimate partner violence as well as war exposure will be assessed by checklists. In more detail, an adapted version of the War and Adversity Exposure Checklist (WAEC) [41] will be employed to assess war-related and general traumatic life events, the short version of the Family Violence Checklist [42] will be used to measure violent experiences within the family, while an unpublished checklist created by our work group will be employed to measure intimate partner violence. Post-migration living conditions for young refugees will be assessed by a brief questionnaire developed by the Neuner Work Group.…”