Sexual and gender-based violence, such as rape, is internationally recognized as a weapon that is deliberately used during conflicts and wars. Particularly women are affected. The ‘Women and Health’ (Vrouw en Gezondheid) project combines accessible care for such refugee women with research. APH researcher Zahra Khazai (junior researcher and project coordinator for Women and Health (Vrouw en Gezondheid)) is one of the researchers.

Where there is war, conflict and chaos, sexual and gender-based violence is systematically used as a means to disrupt communities. This primarily involves women. Refugee women are at extra risk of becoming victims, with the most recent example being the stories of rape from Ukraine. "Rape is a powerful weapon," says Zahra Khazai. The Department of Ethics, Law and Humanities of Amsterdam UMC runs this project. Together with organizations such as Doctors of the World, they are working on accessible, free care in the form of peer support groups for refugee women.

Meanwhile, two such groups have been completed to their satisfaction. Khazai herself is a second generation political refugee from Iraq and speaks Arabic. She attends the meetings as a participant observer. It is her goal to eventually obtain a PhD on this project.

What issues do these women encounter?

"Women who have been raped face a range of taboos and issues, from STDs to being pregnant by their rapist. We speak of multi-layered violence and complex trauma. Imagine: because of the conflict, they have fled their country. Suddenly they've packed up their belongings, taken their children with them. Once they have fled, they are at increased risk of falling into the hands of human traffickers or becoming victims of violence, such as rape. This has major consequences for their psychological and physical health." They suffer from psychological symptoms, such as depression, loneliness, anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder. Physical pain stem from psychosomatic complaints or injuries for example."

Woman and Health (Vrouw en Gezondheid), together with a number of concerned organizations, has set up peer support groups, are these a kind of discussion groups?

"We work with the Center for Sexual Violence (Centrum voor Seksueel geweld), with Edu4u and with NisaForNisa (Arabic for 'Women for Women', ed.). Doctors of the World trains cultural mediators. Cultural mediators are women who speak the 'language', that is: they understand the culture of these women and they know which words to use. They are not language interpreters, but people who know how to make the issues open for discussion. Cultural mediators are often experts by experience.

Is this accessible help sufficient?

"There are women who have such severe experiences with violence, for those, peer groups are insufficient. The groups are explicitly a stepping stone to formal care in first, second or third line."

These first peer support groups served in part to try out the idea. What will it take to gain a structural foothold?

"We want to have peer support groups incorporated into the chain of care. You need a familiar place, close to home, where the women feel safe, to hold the meetings. A small room in a community center is not enough. The cultural mediators need to be paid, because this is now voluntary work and therefore not permanent. There are very many refugee women who need help, from everywhere. For that, sustainable care is needed."

Read the full article (in Dutch) here.
The original article was published in Janus Magazine.