Guidance for Grown-Ups
May 2008
Rape as a Weapon of War
This Discussion Guide contains the following Activity Sections:
- The Answers to Your Questions
- Problem Solving: Exploring Options, Giving Advice
- Make a Historical and Global Connection: Changing Options
I. The Answers to Your Questions
The purpose of this activity is to provide teens with a background on the current political situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), including the use of rape as a weapon of war.
Even though teens may understand the facts surrounding the sensitive topic of rape as a weapon of war, it will likely be a difficult topic to discuss. You may want to open the conversation about this subject by acknowledging a respect for the range of emotions that may come up and allowing teens a chance to opt out of conversations or activities, or providing alternatives.
- To break the ice, ask the teens how much they know about the continent of Africa. How many African countries can they name? Can anyone guess how many languages are spoken on the continent? (It’s estimated that 2,000 or more languages are spoken there.) How many teens can locate the Democratic Republic of Congo on a map? (If possible, have a map available.) What do the teens know about the geography, climate, resources, or customs of the DRC? If time, give the teens a chance to verify their answers with the BBC’s country profile of the Congo.
- Ask the teens to read “What’s Happening to Women in the Congo?” Ask them to underline the most important sentence. Then go around the room and ask each teen to explain her choice.
- It’s important that teens understand the difference between the use of rape as a weapon of war, and rape as a crime between individuals. Ask the teens to read one (or more) of the sections of the Thomas/Regan article listed below and summarize for the group. (As an alternative, the teens can do additional reading on the conflict in the DRC.) Ask the teens what they think the major differences are, and why people from other parts of the world should pay attention to the crisis in the Congo.
Resources
Map of African continent - www.mapsofworld.com/africa-political-map.htm
DRC country profile - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/country_profiles/1076399.stm
“Rape in War: Challenging the Tradition of Impunity” by Dorothy Q. Thomas and Regan E. Ralph - www.hrw.org/women/docs/rapeinwar.htm
Background on conflict in DRC - www.globalissues.org/Geopolitics/Africa/DRC.asp
II. Problem Solving: Exploring Options, Giving Advice The purpose of this activity is to encourage teens to make a personal connection between their lives in the United States and those of Congolese rape survivors.
- Remind the teens of the following lines from “What’s Happening to Women in the Congo?”: “Many Congolese rape survivors are shunned when they return to their communities, even though rape is not the woman’s fault. Families sometimes even turn their daughters and wives away right after they have been raped.” Ask the teens to imagine how it would feel to be shunned from one’s family after being the victim of a violent crime. Ask them to write down the first 10 emotions that come to mind.
- Next give the teens three minutes to free write in response to the question: Are rape survivors in the United States stigmatized? (Make sure you explain what stigmatized means.)
- Ask the teens to think of a time in their lives when they felt ashamed, even though they knew they hadn’t done anything wrong. Give the teens a choice to discuss these experiences as a group or to write themselves letters of support about that time.
- There are many ways in which people are shamed or shunned for things they cannot control. Ask the teens to think of as many examples as possible. (Here are some: being disabled; being poor; being lesbian, gay, or bisexual; being transgendered . . .) Ask the teens to create skits in which they play the family members of a shunned teen who comes home from school looking for support. Have them try out different endings to the story. What could it take to help a family accept their shunned teen? They can also create a skit about a teen girl in the Congo and her family, if they choose.
Resources
Book and Movie
We Were the Mulvaneys
Both a novel and a made-for-television movie, We Were the Mulvaneys follows the disintegration of a small-town American family through several decades, in the aftermath of a teenage daughter’s rape. The novel is by Joyce Carol Oates. The movie is available on DVD.
Learn about women’s legal rights in the US - www.womenslaw.org
Organization that advocates for men to help stop rape in the US - www.mencanstoprape.org
III. Make a Historical and Global Connection: Changing Options The purpose of this activity is to foster teens’ understanding of possible actions to help end rape as a weapon of war.
- Give the teens 5-10 minutes to break into small groups and prepare a short campaign speech that outlines how, if elected to public office, a regional community leader would improve the lives of rape survivors in the Congo. Remind them that the speech should inspire sympathy, present action steps, and win over voters. Have the teens present their speeches. You can even run a mock vote to see who wins.
- According to the Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF), female UN peacekeepers get along better with locals and also improve the behavior of their male counterparts, but the percentage of women serving in UN military and police units is very small. Ask the teens to find a job description for a UN peacekeeper online. Next ask them create a resume for the ideal female candidate for that job. (They may want to work in small groups.)
- Learning is a form of action. Ask the teens to plan a (pretend or real) public screening of the documentary, The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo. Give them time to draft a press release for the event. (Remind them to include date, time, location, and the fact that they are teen organizers.) Make sure they find email addresses for at least three news outlets online. If the event is real, have them send out the release!
- For a bonus activity, ask the teens to draft opening remarks to deliver to the audience before the film.
Note for adults: If teens reveal past or present history of rape during any of these discussions, be sure to consult with the appropriate professionals.
Resources
UN suggestions for taking action - www.stoprapenow.org/takeAction.html
UN Peacekeeping Operations Recruitment Center - https://jobs.un.org/Galaxy/Release3/VacancyFM/VacancyFM.aspx?lang=1200
Sample resume formats - www.powerful-sample-resume-formats.com/resume-example.html
The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo - www.thegreatestsilence.org
Sample press release format - www.press-release-writing.com/press-release-template.htm
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