Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, Vol 30(4), Nov 2024, 518-526; doi:10.1037/pac0000757
This study examines how women who have experienced sexual violence in the South and North Kivu provinces cope with the death of their spouses, taking into account the impact that both the rape and this grief have on their physical and mental health. It does this using a qualitative approach and thematic analysis. The majority of the participants had experienced large-scale group rapes in front of their husbands and children; these incidents led to the husbands’ murders. They indicated that even after being raped, they are still in pain and are impacted by the killing of their spouses as well as the property looting. These ailments have an impact on their physical and mental health. Women who managed to flee from the abductors who forced them into sexual slavery face marginalization and exclusion. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)