Rape as weapon: 120,000 women raped during Tigray war

FRANCE 24 English

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00:00Three years ago, during the war in Tigray, seven Eritrean soldiers killed this woman's

00:06husband in front of her eyes, and then raped her.

00:09She's come here for help, and has covered herself up to protect her identity.

00:15They inserted metal into my uterus and this caused an infection. Doctors removed it, but

00:22I'm still bleeding, and psychologically I'm really struggling. I've got nothing left

00:28to live for. That's why I came here.

00:37More than 120,000 women are believed to have been raped during the war. But that figure

00:42may be far higher.

00:47The main issue is that they don't dare go out to get their treatment, and to get help.

00:56They're afraid they'll be spotted, and could be stigmatised.

01:04Fifteen percent of women Mesaret has helped are HIV positive. But the only public centre

01:11here working with rape survivors doesn't have the resources to help them.

01:16They have not any monetary support. They took, they are blood vomiting because the medication

01:23they are taking won't impede so much. Most of the medications they need are in private

01:28setting. Now we haven't proper medications. The demand and supply is not comparable.

01:37More than 50 women come here each day. But staff at the centre fear that many more can't

01:42afford to even get here, and are left to wrestle alone with the devastating trauma caused by

01:47rape as a weapon of war.

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