Rape Recovery

SOS FED has provided recovery services to victims of sexual violence since 2003. Currently, we have three centers of reception in South Kivu Province in the villages of Mboko, Kikonde, and Kazimia (see Where We Work). We have helped hundreds of women to rebuild their lives.

Typically, women stay at the centers three months, during which they receive one-on-one counseling from center managers, peer/group counseling and empowerment sessions, and skills training. Our goal is not only to assist women in coming to terms with their violations, but also to help women develop marketable skills (such as sewing and cultivation) so that they can better reintegrate into their former communities.

Women arriving at the centers with medical problems are treated first by our staff nurse, and our referred to health clinics in the event of more extensive health problems. They are also registered, and provide information about the nature and place of the violation as well as their current psychological and emotional state. Each center can take up to 30 women at any one time. These women are provided with a safe place to stay during their therapy, and are provided food and medicines.

Before they leave women  meet with the center manager and fill in an exit questionaire. This allows the center manager to gauge their rate of recovery and ability to return to their home villages. SOS FED does all it can to assist women to reintegrate back into their former communities. SOS FED encourages women to stay active in SOS FED activities and educational sessions after they leave a center.