“We are the memory representation of our parents”: Intergenerational legacies of genocide among descendants of rape survivors in Rwanda
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Introduction: The 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda subjected thousands of women to rape as part of a range of other genocidal atrocities. This article explores what it means in everyday life to be a descendant of such mothers. Methods: A qualitative study was conducted in eastern Rwanda. The twelve respondents, all descendants of genocide-rape survivor mothers, participated in focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews. Topics focused on different aspects of the intergenerational transmission of trauma and the mitigation of this transmission by the psychosocial support from which their mothers benefited. The phenomenological method as developed by Giorgi (2012) was used to analyze the transcripts. Findings: All respondents, regardless of their birth circumstances, are marked by growing up with a severely traumatized mother. Children conceived during rape are specifically marked by the absence of a perpetrator father unknown to them, the others by the lack of many (extended) family members. They all benefited from the psychosocial support provided to their mothers. Discussion: Genocidal rape causes specific kinds of suffering and specific identity problems for the children born as a consequence of genocide-rape. However, even if the children were not conceived during the rape, their level of suffering is similar. Conclusion: The effects of the intergenerational transmission of trauma related to the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda should be recognized among all youth deeply affected by it. Appropriate policies and programs should be designed and implemented to moderate the effects and strengthen resilience to ensure a peaceful future on an individual, interpersonal, and inter-relational community levels.
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The 1994 genocide against the Tutsi has been a vector for the transmission of domestic violence in Rwanda.
“Studies showed that the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi has been a vector for the transmission of domestic violence in Rwanda [29]”
From Contribution of community-based sociotherapy interventions for the psychological well-being of Rwandan youths born to genocide perpetrators and survivors: analysis of the stories telling of a sociotherapy approach (2020) · cites this paper as [29]
The Findings report that almost all children interviewed faced physical and verbal abuse from their mothers, and describe this in the context of trauma transmitted by genocide-rape survivors. This supports a link between genocide-related trauma and abuse within these families, but the study of twelve descendants does not establish a general transmission of domestic violence across Rwanda. (LLM, conf=0.83)
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- Authors
- Kagoyire, M. G., & Richters, A.
- Affiliations
- Leiden University Medical Center (NL)
- ORCID
- Richters, Annemiek
- Venue
- Torture Journal
- Published
- 2018-11-27
- Volume
- 28
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 30-45
- ISSN
- 1018-8185 (ISSN-L)
- 1997-3322
- OpenAlex
- W2905342766
- Cited by
- 17
- References
- 27
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 4 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 2
- FWCI
- 2.04
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- diamond
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by-nc-nd
- Locations
- Torture Journal (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UvA-DARE (University of Amsterdam) (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Memory, violence, and history
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Memory, Trauma, and Commemoration
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender, Security, and Conflict
- Keywords
- 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, intergenerational trauma, psychosocial support, identity problems, family fragmentation, resilience, Rwanda
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Female, Humans, Male, Memory, Middle Aged, Rape, Rwanda, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic, Intergenerational Relations, Survivors, Adult Children, Qualitative Research, Young Adult, Genocide
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