Struggling to Survive: Barriers to Justice for Rape Victims in Rwanda

By: Human Rights Watch

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Synopsis: The 58-page Human Rights Watch report, "Struggling to Survive: Barriers to Justice for Rape Victims in Rwanda," investigates the persistent weaknesses in the Rwandan legal system that hamper the investigation and prosecution of sexual violence. The report also documents the desperate health and economic situation of rape survivors. Many of the women who were raped became infected with HIV. Women who were raped during the Rwandan genocide and afterwards are still struggling to find justice. Rwanda's legal system remains ill-equipped to address sexual violence cases. Weaknesses in the legal system include insufficient protection for victims and witnesses, lack of training for authorities on sexual violence crimes, and poor representation of women among police and judicial authorities. Genocide survivors, including women and girls who were raped in 1994, have not been able to obtain reparations such as monetary compensation or other assistance for the human rights abuses they suffered. The report recommends that the Rwandan government enact pending legislation to provide reparations in the form of monetary compensation or other assistance, which would allow rape victims to seek the care they require. The government should also better train doctors and other medical personnel to collect medico-legal evidence, and it should regularly train prosecutors and judges on how to prosecute and try cases of sexual violence.

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