Everyday partner violence in Rwanda: The contribution of community-based sociotherapy to peaceful family life

Abstract

Rwanda is well known for the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. What is less known is the increase
in everyday partner violence that has come about as a legacy not only from the genocide but
also from the war preceding the genocide. A range of war and genocide-related factors continue
to contribute to family conflict and intimate partner violence in Rwanda to this day. This raises
particular challenges for interventions aimed at curbing such incidences. This article presents
arguments for community-based sociotherapy as a psychosocial approach that can effectively
meet these challenges. The qualitative study that informed the article was situated in the north
of Rwanda. Data collection methods included interviews, focus group discussions, participant
observation and informal conversations. Data were coded and categorised in relation to the
main research questions. Social disconnection and mistrust as legacies of the war and genocide
proved to be major issues underlying family conflict and partner violence. Sociotherapy
reportedly restores trust, dignity, respect and a caring attitude among its participants, thereby
facilitating the creation of a home environment in which husband and wife start to openly address
their problems, cease different forms of partner violence, raise their standard of living and
become role models in their neighbourhood. Community-based sociotherapy as a grassroots
intervention has proven to be an effective complement to more top-down public and political
responses to gender-based violence.