30 years ago, in the middle of the Bosnian war, the gynecologist Monika Hauser founded the first therapy center for raped women. Today, the women’s rights organization “Medica Mondiale” is active worldwide.
“Medica Mondiale“ supports women affected by sexualized violence in crisis areas with a holistic approach – psychologically, medically, legally and financially. The women’s rights organization works in Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Iraq and Ukraine, among other places.
BRIGITTE: “I can’t just sit on the sofa,” you said in 1992 and spontaneously left for Bosnia to help raped women in the Yugoslav war. That was the beginning of “Medica Mondiale”. Where did you get the courage and the will to going to a war zone?
Monica Hauser: It was immediately clear to me that the Bosnian women concern me. The topic of sexualised violence has been present for me for a very long time because I heard stories of violence from my South Tyrolean grandmother and other women, and because as a young gynecologist in Germany I saw a lot of violence. I knew Bosnia is a place where I want to fight for more justice. It would have taken more strength to sit on the sofa than to look for ways to get there.
How were you able to get to the affected women?
First I asked some aid organizations if I could work with them, but I only got strange answers. Then I heard about two pastors from Kassel who went to Zenica with humanitarian goods, where around 120,000 refugees were stuck. I went with them and very quickly got to know empathetic women there. For example, a German teacher who helped me with the interpreting, we are still close friends today. We quickly put together a specialist team of 20 women and got started.
What could you do for the local women?
First of all, it was a question of acknowledging the problem of sexualized violence and creating a safe place. We converted a kindergarten into a residential building for 20 women with children and set up a gynecological and psychological outpatient clinic where they could rest and strengthen themselves. Little by little, we have built up holistic support, with psychological, medical and legal support. The community was also important for the women – to know that I am not alone, that I was not the only one who experienced this violence.
Rape is apparently used as a strategic weapon in war – also in Ukraine. What is the purpose of this?
Sexualized violence can be used to terrorize civilians. But it falls short to see rape only as a strategic tool. Men also rape in these situations because they can, because they have all the power gun in hand. And it is so dramatically efficient because the women are not only attacked in terms of their identity, but because the sexualized violence is also family and community-destroying, because in patriarchal thinking the honor of the man still takes precedence over the intact body of the woman. In a patriarchal structure, the perpetrators know exactly how to hit the opponent.
So there are both spontaneous and strategic rapes.
A macho atmosphere needs no orders. The soldiers know very well that they are allowed to do this, and the generals expect that rapes will take place in the context of the conquests. If the leadership does not actively take measures to prevent sexualized violence, but promotes an atmosphere where soldiers can be sure that they do not have to fear any consequences, then it is also strategically wanted. We see that in Ukraine too. The Russian side is not doing anything that contributes to the criminal prosecution of the perpetrators. On the contrary, Putin publicly honored the soldiers who were responsible for the atrocities in Bucha. That is clear code that this type of violence is welcomed.
What do you know about the situation of women in the contested areas of Ukraine?
So far we only have the reports from the areas that have been liberated. Where Russian soldiers have met people, we see atrocities that always go hand in hand with rape.
Are at least the refugee women safe?
We know from 30 years of experience with Medica Mondiale: In conflict situations, the risk for women of experiencing sexualised violence increases, even when fleeing. It’s not for nothing that there are still huge posters in Berlin’s reception and subway stations that warn in Ukrainian: “Don’t go with men who offer you help.” Sexual exploitation by mafia structures is massive in such situations. On the run, women have hardly any protective structures, they don’t speak the language, so the risk of sexual exploitation is very high. We know that girls and women are kidnapped from refugee camps or lured with alleged work abroad. In the refugee camps in Germany, too, women experience violence from fellow refugees and security people if the management is not attentive.
In Germany?
Also in Germany, of course.
Ukrainian scientist Marta Havryshko says sexual violence has almost become an epidemic in Ukraine. How can women be better protected?
The international resolutions of the last 20 years contain everything that is necessary for the prevention of sexualized violence. But the political will to implement this is lacking. Among other things, it would be important to improve law enforcement. If men had to assume that if they rape they would be behind bars for many years, the situation would be different. But in general it has to be said that we also have sexual violence in times of peace. We need to look at the root causes deeply rooted in patriarchal societies, and that is the unequal power relations between the sexes. They are the basis for the fact that we experience so much violence in the context of war. A society must work on this if it wants to achieve real prevention. We need awareness work and education in all patriarchal societies.
How can this succeed?
Sexualized violence, whether in peace or in war, is a symptom of patriarchal societies, and that is changeable and not God-given. It is up to all of us to strive for non-violent societies. Politicians and the public can and must prioritize the fight against violence: In Germany, too, every second to third woman is affected by violence and this has massive consequences for her and society. There is a societal responsibility to recognize this suffering and the strength with which these women survive.