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Listening to Survivors of Sexual Violence

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Listening to Survivors of Sexual Violence

Posted by Jennifer Choy on January 24, 2009

Listening to Survivors of Sexual Violence

The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars recently hosted a panel discussion examining the dynamics of the widespread sexual violence occurring in eastern Congo. Michael VanRooyen and Jocelyn Kelly of the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative discussed their ongoing study on the root causes of sexual violence in eastern Congo. In addition to documenting the “medical, psychosocial, and livelihood” needs of the survivors of sexual violence in Congo, the study—undertaken in partnership with Panzi Hospital, in Bukavu, eastern Congo—assesses community perceptions of sexual assault and seeks to understand the motivation of perpetrators. In the effort to help Congolese women to rebuild their lives and empower themselves, projects such as this one, that focus on listening to and learning from the survivors, are on the right track.