131
2 . The legacy of rape . Children born of rape .
PART III : THEORY
( This issue is not discussed specifically in the training .)
The stigma attached to ‘ war born children ’
We know that sexual and gender-based violence gravely harms its victims . More recently , it has been acknowledged that sexual violence also has a devastating impact on families and communities , and affects society at large . Raped women often do not report this kind of violence because it may cause them to be stigmatised . However , when a rape results in pregnancy , it can no longer be hidden . The term ‘ war children ’ is used to refer to children “ who are stigmatised because their mother had a relationship with enemy or allied soldiers , or peacekeeping personnel ” or they were “ born as a result of politicised violence used as a sexualised war strategy ” ( Mochmann 2008 ). The second category is the main focus of discussion here .
Starting point
Most academic and general interest in gender-based violence concentrates on the women victims , their trauma , and the consequences of rape ( Roosendaal 2011 ). Less attention is paid to the children born as a result of such rapes . It is important to acknowledge these children . Though systematic data is generally lacking , Carpenter ( 2007 ) considers that the evidence available indicates that ‘ war children ’ generally face severe discrimination . This is sometimes because mothers who become pregnant or give birth after rape face stigma and social exclusion . In addition , maternal attachment to children born of rape differs significantly from society to society , as does the social stigmatisation of such children . Some children are loved or accepted , but others are rejected by both their mothers and the community ; some are victims of infanticide . Such differences of attitude are likely to be due to specific variations in geographic , cultural and structural circumstances , and can be further understood in terms of the taboos and myths that surround such pregnancies and children . Helpers should make an effort to understand these factors and take them into account in their work .
Stigmatisation and discrimination : examples from the field
It seems that children are more at risk of being rejected , stigmatised or killed when their origins are identifiable in their features . Examples include the ‘ Vietnamerican children ’ born during the Vietnam War as a result of rape or other forms of relationship , and the ‘ war children ’ born as a consequence of gang-rapes in Darfur . Where ethnicity is less politicised or racialised , or where rapes have no ethnic dimension , ‘ war children ’ can hide more easily in the population and are more likely to be socially accepted and nurtured by their mothers ( Carpenter 2007 ).
In some societies it is widely believed that children born of rape inherit their father ’ s ‘ bad ’ characteristics , based on the assumption that identity is inherited from the male ( Mochmann 2008 ). Children conceived by rape during the conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina are called ‘ Chetnic children ’ or ‘ Bosnian Serbs ’, for example ( Roosendaal 2011 ). Elsewhere , children born of rape are described as ‘ devil ’ s children ’ ( Rwanda ), ‘ children of shame ’ ( East Timor ), ‘ monster babies ’ ( Nicaragua ), ‘ children of hate ’ ( Democratic Republic of the Congo ), and ‘ Dust of life ’ ( bui doi , Vietnam ). These demeaning names reveal how society perceives these children , and that they are often associated with an enemy ( Mochmann 2008 ).