Rape and sexual violence are commonly used methods of torture.  Providers of services including medical, legal, psychological, or social services to immigrant and refugee populations should be aware of the possibility that their clients may have been subjected to sexual violence before, during, or after their refugee journey.

Videos

“Healing and The Pursuit of Justice: Challenging Sexual Assault as an Instrument of War”

• Introduction
• Part 1 – Rape and Sexual Assault as a Weapon of War
• Part 2 –  The Effects of Sexual Assault on Refugee Women
• Part 3 –  A Human Rights Approach to Sexual Assault Prevention

Common Threads Project

A video exploration of narrative textiles around across diverse cultures.

By Rachel A. Cohen.

The model introduces art therapy techniques, psycho-education, peer support, symptom reduction techniques and psychosocial skill building, within the context of a women’s hand sewing collective.

The article is available here.

The project also has a recent video called Stitching the Unspeakable: Transformative Trauma Therapy of Common Threads Project.

“Intensity of their suffering: Long-term physical and psychological symptoms in detained Syrian men, subjected to CRSV, torture and displacement”

During NCTTP’s 16th Annual Symposium on March 18, 2024, Coleen Kivlahan MD, MSPH and Mohammed AlSharif, MD presented “Intensity of their suffering: Long-term physical and psychological symptoms in detained Syrian men, subjected to CRSV, torture and displacement.

Articles

• Sivakumaran, S. (2007). Sexual Violence Against Men in Armed Conflict. European Journal of International Law, 18(2), 253–276. https://doi.org/10.1093/ejil/chm013.
• Controlled Trial of Psychotherapy for Congolese Survivors of Sexual Violence by Judith K. Bass et al.

• A Congolese-US participatory action research partnership to rebuild the lives of rape survivors and their families in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo by N Glass et al.

Websites

Please note: these websites are provided for informational purposes only.  The inclusion of a site here is not necessarily an endorsement by either the Center for Victims of Torture’s NCB project or the Office of Refugee Resettlement.

Human Rights Watch – Sexual Violence

USCRI – Rape and Sexual Violence

A great number of unaccompanied immigrant minors have experienced some form of sexual assault.  Some children are victimized while still living at home by family, friends, or strangers.  Many others are assaulted or raped along their journey to the United States at the hands of traffickers or fellow travelers.  The following resources are for service providers supporting refugee and immigrant children who have experienced sexual assault.

The Advocates for Human Rights Stop Violence Against Women Project: Sexual Assault Against Refugees

National Online Resource Center on Violence Against Women

This resource library is home to thousands of materials on violence against women and related issues, with particular attention to its intersections with various forms of oppression.

Immigrant Women and Sexual Violence

by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (March 2009), updated by ASISTA (October 2013)

This collection addresses some of the problems faced by immigrant women survivors of sexual violence in the United States. Additionally, this collection provides resources and tools for immigrant women and service providers who assist them, such as advocates, lawyers, and medical professionals. The annotated bibliography includes resources on many immigrant communities to highlight strategies that may be successful in stopping violence against immigrant women.

Immigrant Women and Domestic Violence

by staff of the Minnesota Center Against Violence and Abuse (March 2009) in consultation with the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence, updated by Sheetal Rana (October 2013)

While there are differences in domestic violence experienced by immigrant women, there may be commonalities, such as patterns of abuse, challenges, and barriers to seeking help. Similarly, domestic violence service providers may face common challenges in offering services to immigrant women survivors. These challenges and barriers could be related to the survivors’ immigration status, eligibility for public assistance, cultural practices, English language proficiency, etc. This special collection explores the complex experiences of immigrant survivors and includes resources to support their path to safety and justice. It also includes resources that help service providers respond effectively and appropriately to immigrant women who are experiencing domestic violence.

Women’s Media Center

A website with: Blog posts, videos, survivor stories

From the Women’s Media Center website:

WMC’s Women Under Siege is a journalism project that investigates how rape and other forms of sexualized violence are used as tools in genocide and conflict throughout the 20th century and into the 21st. Originated by Gloria Steinem, it builds on the lessons revealed in the anthology Sexual Violence Against Jewish Women During the Holocaust by Sonja Hedgepeth and Rochelle Saidel, and also inAt the Dark End of the Street: Black Women, Rape and Resistance—a New History of the Civil Rights Movement from Rosa Parks to the Rise of Black Power by Danielle McGuire. In the belief that understanding what happened then might have helped us prevent or prepare for the mass sexual assaults of other conflicts, from Bosnia to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, this Women’s Media Center project is exploring this linkage to heighten public consciousness of causes and preventions.

Please click over to WomenUnderSiegeSyria.crowdmap.com for our live, crowdsourced map of rape in Syria. To read more about the map, click here.

This website contains Conflict Profiles detailing how sexual violence has been used as a weapon of war in several countries including:  Burma, Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya, Sri Lanka, Bosnia and others.

Books

Cohn, C.  (2014) Women and Wars. Taylor Francis Online.

Eriksson Baaz, M. & Stern, M. (2013) Sexual Violence as a Weapon of War? Perceptions, Prescriptions, Problems in the Congo and Beyond  London, England: Zed Books.  

Stiglmayer, A. (1994). The War against Women in Bosnia-Herzegovina.  Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press.

From the Women’s Media Center website: 10 Must-read Books on Sexualized Violence in War http://www.womenundersiegeproject.org/blog/entry/15-must-read-books-on-sexualized-violence-in-war