How Motherhood Triumphs Over Trauma Among Mothers With Children From Genocidal Rape in Rwanda

Abstract

Rape is a common occurrence during genocide and the presence of children born as a result of rape poses a challenge to post-genocide recovery processes. This paper treats mothers of children born as a result of genocidal rape during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi as a separate category of survivors and explores the contribution of a positive embrace of motherhood in their recovery. It is based upon a study that included fourteen women from Kigali city, Karongi District in the Western Province and Huye District in the Southern Province. Qualitative analysis of individual interviews and focus groups provided a means to explore in-depth the perceptions of mothers and the value of motherhood. It was found that mothers of children of rape experienced challenges raising their children, especially in the early stages of parenting. Social stigma related to rape and children born of rape created challenges, as did the lack of psychosocial resources for the women, particularly when faced with disclosing paternity to the children. However, despite these and other difficulties, motherhood played a positive role for many women, often providing a reason to live again after the genocide. These findings show that positive experiences of motherhood can be key to the recovery of survivors of genocidal rape in Rwanda and points to future directions for research and health promotion among populations affected by conflict-related sexual violence.