Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date. 
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Voice of America - April 6, 2004
Joe De Capua
Washington
The United Nations estimates that during the Rwandan genocide between 250-thousand and 500-thousand rapes were committed. The human rights group, Amnesty International, says, “Genocide, war and HIV/AIDS have contributed to a generation of orphaned children living in destitution.”
Amnesty has released a new report, “Marked for Death: Rape Survivors Living with HIV/AIDS in Rwanda.” Stephanie Brancaforte is a researcher for the group. From Kampala, Uganda, she spoke to English to Africa reporter Joe De Capua about the new report as Rwanda approaches the 10-year anniversary of the genocide. She says, “HIV/AIDS increased significantly as a result of the genocide. The problem is that 10 years on, the international community has recognized that the genocide had occurred and their failure to intervene. At the same time, women continued to die as a result of the HIV/AIDS that they contracted during rape in the genocide and war.”
Ms. Brancaforte says, “It’s very difficult for the families to cope with this disease. Many of them are very impoverished to begin with since it’s a largely rural society.” She says the disease impacts on a “woman’s ability to produce food for the family, for the woman to do any kind of work that she might have done otherwise. And many of the women I talked to were extremely concerned about the fates of their children if they were to die from the disease.”
The Amnesty spokeswoman says some health care is available for women but not on a large-scale basis, especially when it comes to antiretroviral therapy. Amnesty is also calling for improvements in the justice system to help bring rapists to justice.
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