Abstract
There is increased evidence of the existence of sexual violence against men and boys in many war-stricken areas. Yet, there are still discrepancies in understanding male victims’ experience in depth. Furthermore, limited research on sexual violence against men in the context of the war in the Eastern Region of the Congo has been undertaken to date. As part of addressing this knowledge gap, a phenomenological study was conducted to shed light and understand the experience of male survivors of sexual violence. The participants were males who experienced sexual violence in the war. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted. The findings show that participants experienced a wide range of psychological and physical wounds other than rape. Their experience during the event (s) falls under the umbrella term gender-based violence (GBV) which encompasses other forms of harmful acts against one’s will including sexual assault, genital mutilation, acts of penetration with different objects, and cultural inappropriate actions with intention to sexually harass and humiliate. The results show a wide and complex range of short and long-term impact on multiple levels. The findings add clarification and understanding to the controversial and taboo subject around conflict-related sexual violence against men in the Congo. They shed light on how the understanding of gender impacts participants’ masculine identity, their sexual victimization experience, and healing journey.
Highlights
Received: 7 September 2021 sexual violence against men and boys have been severely underestimated, the horrendous stories of gang rape, sexual assault, and sexual mutilation, among other instances, have been documented in most war-stricken countries (Chynoweth et al 2021; Sivakumaran 2007; Chynoweth 2017; Ferrales et al 2016; Christian et al 2011)
Forms of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence Perpetrated against Men
Gender-based violence encompass a wide range of psychological and physical actions not limited to rape, including sexual assault, acts of penetration, genital mutilation, cultural inappropriate actions with intention to sexually harass and humiliate, and non-sexual acts committed on the basis of gender (Ferrales et al 2016)
Summary
Received: 7 September 2021 sexual violence against men and boys have been severely underestimated, the horrendous stories of gang rape, sexual assault, and sexual mutilation, among other instances, have been documented in most war-stricken countries (Chynoweth et al 2021; Sivakumaran 2007; Chynoweth 2017; Ferrales et al 2016; Christian et al 2011). A Congolese woman in the eastern region of the Congo stated, “it is common for men and boys to be raped . Sex-selective killing is one of the key mechanisms of gender-based violence against men and boys in Darfur (Ferrales et al 2016). An illustration of sex-selective killing is the targeting of young boys and male fetus because “puppy can become a dog” An illustration of sex-selective killing is the targeting of young boys and male fetus because “puppy can become a dog” (Ferrales et al 2016, p. 579)
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