The Secret War Crime: The most shameful consequence of conflict comes out into the open

secretwarcrime

Rape is a weapon even more powerful than a bomb or a bullet,

At least with a bullet, you die. But if you have been raped, you appear to the community like someone who is cursed. After rape, no one will talk to you; no man will see you.

It’s a living death.”

In conflict, stories of sexual assault and rape are often hidden as socially taboo and overshadowed by news reports of casualties and statistics. “The silence must end,” says Jeanna Mukuninwa, a 28-year-old woman from Shabunda, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

HEAL Africa and other organizations like us are fighting to not only heal the physical abuses but also treat the deep mental injuries suffered from sexual violence, transforming shame into empowerment and social change.

http://time.com/war-and-rape/?xid=homepage