Grbavica and medica mondiale

With her commitment, the gynaecologist Dr. Monika Hauser started the support for raped Bosnian women.

Thirteen years have passed since the first news of mass rapes of Bosnian women became public. No one will ever know the true figure but there were tens of thousands who became victims of the war in Bosnia Herzegovina in an especially disgraceful and dreadful manner. No matter if it were 13 year old girls or 60 year old women – civilians like Esma were systematically turned into a means of war. Tortured, abducted and raped to demoralise the war enemy.

Sexualised violence as a means of war has been a crime for thousands of years – and was also named in 1949. The Geneva Convention outlaws rape as a forbidden means of warfare. However, it was not until 2001 when the perpetrators were called to account. In a legal landmark proceeding on the crimes in the Bosnian town of Foca, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in Den Haag for the first time sentenced war offenders for systematically exercising sexualised violence.

The gynaecologist Dr. Monika Hauser, founder of medica mondiale, also experienced, how little public attention the issue was getting, when she heard about the mass rapes in Bosnia. At the end of 1992, Monika Hauser traveled to the industrial city of Zencia in Central Bosnia. There, she met with Bosnian psychologists and doctors. They decided to take action against crimes against women and to support them. With the vision statement to take care exclusively of the needs of girls and women, Monika Hauser faced the indifference of international aid organisations. This was the reason of the foundation of the women’s therapy center „Medica Zencia“ together with 20 Bosnian women in the spring of 1993.

Consequences for the whole existence

The women were in bitter need of this commitment as sexualised violence results in a tremendous traumatisation. Sexualised violence is attacking the most intimate and most vulnerable part of human self-understanding. It is leaving wounds which go beyond the strength of what humans are able to cope with. But regardless of the experienced crimes, many of those affected found the strength to seek help. One client of „Medica Zenica“, who had been raped several times during the war, told the therapists of recurring nightmares, constant anxiety, panic attacks, insomnia and different kinds of somatic pains. Another, who like Esma became pregnant because of rape, told of changing emotions towards her child and alcohol addiction. The women affected are often just „functioning“, but have stopped living. However, within the framework of the psychosocial and legal support by „Medica Zenica“, they still experiencing the strength they have.

The war is not over yet

About 70 specialised Bosnian employees are currently working for „Medica Zenica“ – from all ethnic groups by the way. This has been the principle of the center from the very beginning. The facilities comprise two houses in Zenica. Medica Zenica also runs a counseling center in Visoko, 40 km away from Zencia. Doctors, nurses and therapists are offering ambulant and hospital services. That way, more than 100.000 women have received support during the last years. In addition, women have access to a documentation and information center and to training programmes. This includes a gynaecologic out-patient department as well as the residential project Medica II and a S.O.S phone service. About 93 women reside in the house – and every year, around 380 new clients are seeking help and support. Today, women, who have suffered the trauma of being raped during war, are still seeking help in these facilities.

These are women who testify in a legal proceeding and thereby experiencing a retraumatisation or run into their tormentors in the cities they live. Women who live on the bread line and who have never experienced support. Rape in war is a social taboo and its victims are being marginalized. Consequently, for the survivors the act is stigmatised with shame – and that’s a reason why so many stay silent and are eaten up by their pain. However, the consequences are long-winded, also for society. Bosnia Herzegovina has the problem of a high unemployment, and violence against women is steadily increasing. „Medica Zenica“ has therefore extended its work on other target groups than only war traumatised women. One advantage of this is that women, who come here for help, are not automatically stigmatized with the label of „being raped“.

A global network of support

The work of medica mondiale is based on four pillars: Gynaecologic care, psychosocial support, legal advice and advocacy work. Legal advice from „Medica Zenica“ for example means that the women receive the status of being civilian war victim. However, many of them are still fighting for a war victims’ pension. Due to the popularity of the film, a Bosnian women’s network was able to gather 50.000 signatures, demanding that women survivors receive a monthly war victims’ pension. „Medica Zenica“ also belongs to this network and fights for the women and their rights.

What began with Medica Zenica in Bosnia in 1992 has become a global network with medica mondiale. Today, medica mondiale – as an uniquely organisation worldwide – is supporting traumatised women and girls in war and crisis areas like Afghanistan, Albania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Kosovo, Liberia, Sudan and in Uganda. Its work is mainly financed through donations and some public development funds from partners like InWent, the European Union, and the federal ministries in Germany. However this financial support is mostly lasting only for a short period of time.

We still depend on your support! For the women in Bosnia – and women in other war zones! Everyday throughout the world women are still victims of rape through paramilitary groups, soldiers and civilians.

medica mondiale
Hülchrather Straße 4
50670 Cologne
Phone +49-221-9318980
Fax +49-221-9318981

Press contact

Isabella Stock
(Press and Public Relations)
Phone: +49-221-93189825