INVESTIGATION OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN EASTERN DRC “I was sleeping when the assailants arrived. My husband was on a trip. They broke down the door and entered our house. Three of them raped me and pillaged everything in the house. When he returned, my husband asked me what had happened and I explained. He abandoned me, taking another woman who had two children. Now I live alone with my four children and the village stigmatizes me because I am a woman of rape. This gives me terrible anxiety.” Lab at Panzi Hospital (Justin Ide, Harvard University News Office) THEME: FEAR OF SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS (STIS) OR HIV/AIDS A common concern among sexual violence survivors was the contraction of STIs and HIV/AIDS and many women presented to hospital requesting HIV and STI testing. For some women, continuation of their marriages was contingent on negative HIV testing. “I was sleeping when the assailants arrived. Four of them beat me and took turns raping me. I was ashamed to report this incident so I stayed home. However, the infection got worse and treatment became necessary. Now that I understand the infections, I realize that it is important to take care of myself.” “I was farming the field when I saw soldiers approaching. They threatened to kill me and forced me to put down my hoe. They made me lie on the ground and I was raped. After the rape, they took me to the forest where I spent two days being raped by the same soldier. Now I have tested positive for HIV.” “I was in the fields when the assailants arrived, claiming that they were going to have sex with me. They said that I would be killed if I resisted. So I was then raped by four soldiers who each took their turn with me. Since this time, I have had vaginal discharge and itching. I am afraid of STIs and HIV.” 31