International Forensic Nurse addressing sexual violence in conflict zones in central & east Africa

Senior Fellow, Nancy Cabelus, DNP, MSN, RN, is an international forensic nurse consultant currently working with Physicians for Human Rights on a program addressing sexual violence in conflict zones in central and east Africa.

In recent weeks I visited impoverished areas in Kenya to specifically meet with women and talk with them about sexual violence.  In Kibera slum, the largest and most renowned slum on the African continent, I spoke one morning with 16 women.  The women I met with are HIV positive and receive antiretroviral (ARV) treatment.  I asked the women to whom they would turn if they or someone close to them were raped. All said that they would seek care from a doctor but most were not aware of places they could go where medical treatment was free. Only two reported that they would seek help from the police. Police are perceived as rude, accusatory, and often ask for bribes from women seeking help.  Two women stated they would speak to the tribal chief in the slum and eleven others said they would tell a trusted friend. None would tell a family member and would prefer to suffer in silence rather than deal with the stigma and family outcast attached to rape.