1. Theoneste Rutayisire, Angela Jansen, Annemiek Richters
The impact of sociotherapy on the everyday life of genocide survivors and perpetrators in Rwanda: Quality assurance through participatory action research
Sarabwe Emmanuel
in cooperation with
Theoneste Rutayisire, Angela Jansen, Annemiek Richters
IRCT 10th International Symposium – Delivering on the promise of the right to rehabilitation
Session: Survivor perspectives on rehabilitation
Mexico

2. The flow of the presentation
The Rwandan (post-)genocide context
Community based sociotherapy in Rwanda
Monitoring its outcomes and impact through participatory action research
Selection of preliminary findings of quantitative study
Two case studies (qualitative study)
Conclusion

3. The Rwandan (post)genocide context
Genocide against the Tutsi: victims
people provisionally arrested and detained
Gacaca courts:
cases tried by Gacaca
65% conviction rate
Many rape victims, widows and orphans
Ex-prisoners and prisoners’ family members

4. The intervention of community-based sociotherapy in Rwanda
Introduced into Rwanda in 2005 to deal with genocide and gacaca challenges
Current phase ( ) focuses in particular on post-gacaca issues
Current program implemented in 4 Provinces, 8 Districts, 67 Sectors, 4 refugee camps, 1 prison
536 Sociotherapists/facilitators have been trained
The aim is to reach people by the end of 2016
So far over people have gone through sociotherapy

5. Modus operandi
Principles
Interest
Equality
Democracy
Here and Now
Responsibility
Participation
Learning by doing
Phases
Safety
Trust
Care
Respect
New rules
Memories

6. Focal social groups
Genocide survivors
Ex-prisoners (mainly genocide convicts)
Women with husbands in prisons
Descendants of genocide survivors and victims
Descendants of genocide perpetrators
People living with HIV/AIDS
Spouses in family conflict
Elderly people
Returnees from exile
Etc.

7. Monitoring the impact of sociotherapy through participatory action research
PAR is the cornerstone of the Monitoring and Evaluation system in the current Community Based Sociotherapy Program (CBSP); it has three main objectives:
To identify challenges and gaps to ensure and sustain a high quality intervention
To evaluate the outcomes and impacts of the program
To develop interdisciplinary knowledge on community issues that ask for attention in sociotherapy
CBSP has four full Participatory Action Researchers in the field, one per province, with senior staff at the head office

8. Six main outcomes monitored
Improved psychosocial wellbeing
Interpersonal reconciliation
Civic participation and social cohesion
Socio-economic development
Improved family dynamics
Gender equality

9. Research methodology Survey/Questionnaire for quantitative study
Pre-intervention survey
Post-intervention survey
Retrospective survey
Qualitative studies
In-depth individual interviews (semi-structured individuals)
Focus Group Discussions
Participant observation
Home visits (unstructured interviews)
Most Significant Change Stories

10. Four main research foci - January-December 2016
Intergenerational dynamics research (purpose to adjust if needed the program of sociotherapy to needs of youth)
Internal evaluation research
Quantitative study progress made on (ten) identified indicators
Pre-intervention survey
Post-intervention survey
Retrospective survey

11. Some preliminary findings regarding a selection of outcomes
Improved psychosocial well-being
Preliminary findings of pre- and post-intervention studies (N=83)- Prior to sociotherapy, 37.3% of the respondents were potentially having a mental disorder. After sociotherapy this reduced to 6%.
Preliminary results of the retrospective survey (N=252)
82.4 % stated their body-weight increased after sociotherapy
97.0 % stated their level of self-respect increased
97.2 % stated their level of socializing increased

12. Preliminary findings continued
Interpersonal reconciliation
Retrospective study (N=252)
75% of the respondents felt victimized at one point in their lives
50% of them reconciled with their offenders due to sociotherapy
88.5% of the respondent said that their fear towards other community members had reduced due to sociotherapy
Socio-economic development
Retrospective questionnaire (N=233)
87.7% of the respondents stated that their socio-economic situation improved after sociotherapy
74.2% of the respondents stated that the socio-group initiated a joint action to support them economically

13. Case study ex-prisoner
The Case of Munanira
Middle-aged man, married with 5 children, spent 7 years in prison.
He confessed his crimes and was tried by Gacaca courts
While in prison always afraid of being executed the next day
Angry at any one who was not imprisoned
After his release he hardly left home
Bad dreams about the time he was in the band of killers - Fear
After sociotherapy Kimenyi was elected the president of the association his sociotherapy group had started (the vice-president is a genocide survivor)
His bad dreams stopped
Regained his autonomy- using “I” instead of “we”
He is now a member of the village committee
A successful businessman - got the starting capital from the association.

14. Case study of a genocide survivor
“I survived genocide with only one of my four children. During the genocide I was raped which left me with a fistula resulting in infertility. This brought severe conflict with my husband from which I suffered in addition to the shame and depression due to my war life experience. I did not leave the house because I knew that even all the children in my community knew that I was raped and lived with a fistula. Coming in sociotherapy, I met genocide perpetrators. At first it was inconceivable that I could sit with them. However, we reconciled. One day in a sociotherapy session, a participant whose daughter was asked by my son to marry him revealed that he was the among people who had beaten me during the genocide. This was difficult to bear but due to sociotherapy I accepted the marriage of my son. My husband also needs to be cured, but I know how to live in peace with him due to what I myself benefited from in sociotherapy.”

15. Reconciliation is not only benefiting perpetrators but also survivors
Conclusion
Living in the same neighbourhood is difficult for both survivors and perpetrators
Reconciliation is not only benefiting perpetrators but also survivors
What affects people is not only what they experienced during the violence but also the everyday day life in the aftermath of the violence
Healing from the wounds of the traumatic past is a prerequisite for socio-economic development.
The descendants of survivors as well as perpetrators suffer from the experiences of their parents
Bringing survivors and perpetrators together is difficult but possible. Both as well as their families and community benefit from it.