Rape as a weapon of war in eastern DRC and its impact on survivors' marital satisfaction
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.38140/ijspsy.v5i2.1975Keywords:
Armed conflict, Marital satisfaction, Mental health, Psychosocial support, Sexual trauma, Wartime rapeAbstract
Rape in armed conflict is a major issue in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where it is used as a weapon of war to dismantle social structures and inflict long-term trauma on survivors. This study examines the impact of rape on survivors' marital satisfaction, highlighting the differences between wartime rape and intimate or community-based sexual violence. The methodology employs a quantitative approach with a sample of 201 rape survivors from the South Kivu and North Kivu provinces. Data were collected using the Marital Satisfaction Inventory (MSI) and analyzed through statistical tests (ANOVA, t-tests). Contrary to initial expectations, the results indicate that rape committed by armed actors has a lesser impact on marital satisfaction than rape perpetrated by intimate partners or community members. The study also identifies key factors contributing to marital distress, such as repeated assaults, the time elapsed since the last incident, and the public disclosure of the rape. Finally, the findings highlight the importance of psychosocial support in improving survivors' resilience and strengthening post-trauma marital dynamics. These results underscore the need for targeted approaches in the care and protection of victims.
References
Agino, F., Mutama, K., Furaha, M., Gavray, & Blavier. (2022). Gender Relations and Social Reintegration of Rape Survivors in South Kivu: An Analysis of Favorable and Unfavorable Factors for Reintegration. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 31(9), 1168-1186. https://doi.org/10.1080/10926771.2022.2133655
Bartels, S. A., Kelly, J., Scott, J., Leaning, J., Mukwege, D., Joyce, N., & VanRooyen, M. (2013). Militarized sexual violence in south Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo. Journal of interpersonal violence, 28(2), 340-358.
Beaudry, M., & Boisvert, J. M. (1988). Psychologie du couple : quand la science se met à parler d’amour. Canada: Edition du Méridien.
Bernt, F. (2001). Test review of Marital Satisfaction Inventory–Revised. BS Plake & JC Impara (éds), The Fourteenth Mental Measurements Yearbook. Consulté le, 22.
Bloch, H., & Tamisier, J. (2007). Grand dictionnaire de la psychologie (Nouv. ed.). Paris: Larousse.
Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss: Random House.
Conseil de sécurité des Nations Unies. (2023). Débat public sur les violences sexuelles liées aux conflits: tendances globales et cas spécifiques en RDC. Retrieved from https://press.un.org
Crocq, M., Guelfi, J., Boyer, P., Pull, C., & Pull-Erpelding, M. (2015). American psychiatric association. DSM-5: manuel diagnostique et statistique des troubles mentaux [Internet]. In: Elsevier M. Issy-les-Moullineaux.
Cuvelier, J., & Marysse, S. (2004). Les enjeux économiques du conflit en Ituri. L’Afrique des Grands Lacs. Annuaire, 169-199.
Herman, J. L. (2015). Trauma and recovery: The aftermath of violence from domestic abuse to political terror: Hachette UK.
Ilunga, M. K., Yrung, E. K., & Yangonde, J. K. (2023). La complexité de la guerre à l’Est de la RD Congo: Analyses sur les causes, conséquences et solutions adaptées. Revue Congolaise des Sciences et Technologies, 2(2), 317-327.
Kasali, H. N. (2019). La satisfaction conjugale chez les femmes dans l’étiologie des troubles psychiques en milieu urbain : le cas de la ville de Dschang (Unpublished Master thesis). Université de Dschang, Dschang, Cameroun.
Kasali, N. H. (2025). Satisfaction conjugale et troubles psychopathologiques chez les survivantes de viol : Cas de l’Est de la République démocratique du Congo (Unpublished PhD Thèsis). Université de Dschang, Dschang.
Kasali, N. H. (Sous press). Traumatisme sexuel et satisfaction conjugale chez les survivantes de viol à l’Est de la RDC. Revue québecoise de psychologie.
Maisha, B. M.-Y. (2016). Images de soi et de l’autre souillées: La question des tabous sexuels en thérapie et l’apport du rite de purification dans la reconstruction du ‘soi’chez la femme victime de viol à l’Est de la République Démocratique du Congo. Université Saint-Paul/Saint Paul University. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/34888
Moufflet, V. (2009). Le paradigme du viol comme arme de guerre à l'Est de la République démocratique du Congo. Afrique contemporaine, 227(3), 119-133. https://doi.org/10.3917/afco.227.0119
Mukwege, D. M., Mohamed-Ahmed, O., & Fitchett, J. R. (2010). Rape as a strategy of war in the Democratic Republic of Congo. International health, 2(3), 163-164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.inhe.2010.06.003
Mukwege, M. D., & Nangini, C. (2009). Rape with Extreme Violence: The New Pathology in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo. PLoS Medicine, 6(12). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000204
Salmona, M. (2015). La prise en charge médicale des enfants victimes. In Le parcours judiciaire de l’enfant victime (pp. 45-78): Érès.
Salmona, M. (2022). <>livre noir des violences sexuelles Texte imprime?. Retrieved from WorldCat database. Dunod.
Snyder, D. K. (1979). Multidimensional assessment of marital satisfaction. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 41(4), 813-823. https://doi.org/10.2307/351481
Snyder, D. K., Cepeda-Benito, A., Abbott, B. V., Gleaves, D. H., Negy, C., Hahlweg, K., & Laurenceau, J. P. (2004). Cross-cultural Applications of the Marital Satisfaction Inventory-Revised. In The use of psychological testing for treatment planning and outcomes assessment: Instruments for adults, (Volume 3, 3rd ed.) (pp. 603-623). Mahwah, NJ, US: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
Van Wieringen, K. (2020). To counter the rationality of sexual violence: existing and potential policies against the genocidal use of rape as a weapon of war in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Journal of International Humanitarian Action, 5(1), 8. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1186/s41018-020-00074-4
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Copyright (c) 2025 Honnête Nyandu Kasali

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
All articles published by GAERPSY Publishing are under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license, allowing author (s) to share copies and redistribute the material in any medium or format. The GAERPSY Publishing cannot revoke these freedoms if they follow the license terms:
• Attribution: Author (s) must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. Author (s) may do so reasonably but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses his/her or thier use.
• NonCommercial: Author (s) may not use the material for commercial purposes.
• NoDerivatives: If author (s) remixes, transforms, or builds upon the material, he/she (they) may not distribute the modified material.
• No additional restrictions: Author (s) may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.