Rwandan society must deal with Gender Based Violence

Rwanda has one of the most progressive pieces of legislation to do with Gender Based Violence. The Rwandan GBV Act is one of the most progressive legal instruments internationally, as it seeks to demystify and define forms of gender based violence that include; conjugal rape, indecency, harassment and rape. The penalty for rape is a prison sentence of between 10 and 15 years, while conjugal rape carries a sentence of between six months and two years. In some countries the concept of ‘conjugal rape’ does not exist – wives suffer in silence.