Dear editor,

Rape is a word few people can bring themselves to utter here, least of all the victims.

That is why nobody knows how many women have been victims of war-related rape, because of the reluctance to report the crime, but advocacy groups say the number is in the tens of thousands.

In war, any tactic an aggressor can use to dehumanise his enemy works in his favour. Rape does just that. It is seen as a very effective way to undermine the enemy.

Violence against women, especially in the form of rape, has added its own brand of shame to recent wars.

Rape, identified by psychologists as the most intrusive of traumatic event, has been documented in many armed conflicts.

Sexual violation of women erodes the fabric of a community in a way that few weapons can.

The damage of rape can be devastating because of the strong communal reaction to the violation and pain stamped on entire families.

The harm inflicted in such cases on a woman by a rapist is an attack on her, body, family and culture.

The UN and all governments should put strong efforts to end rape during conflicts, including the taking of women and girls as sex slaves by soldiers.

Musanze