Losing control: The experience of traumatic fistula in war-torn Congo

The war torn Democratic Republic of Congo is a region where rape is used as a weapon of war. Traumatic gynecologic fistula is a condition that frequently results from violent rape. Subsequently, many women and their communities are affected by this problem. Stephen Lewis, former UN Special Envoy for AIDS in Africa (2007) described this violence against women as a litany of horror, the likes of which, nowhere else on the planet, is visited on women and girls. In recent years, the prevalence of traumatic fistula has risen dramatically in areas most affected by the conflict, despite humanitarian intervention. Consequences of traumatic fistula range from individual, physical effects, to those psychosocial, familial and communal. Although fistula surgery has a high success rate, numerous barriers prevent affected individuals from accessing treatment. This poster defines traumatic gynecologic fistula, its devastating effects, barriers to treatment, and potential intervention.