HRH The Duchess of Edinburgh sparks new project on conflict-related sexual violence
The Duchess, our Royal Patron, visited Swansea University to discuss SPARC, a new initiative to help survivors of conflict-related sexual violence in DRC.
“When I visited Panzi Hospital I was told a lot of people come through the door, get their pictures taken and never come back. I thought, I can’t be one of those people that walks in, gets a photo taken and then walks away”
– HRH The Duchess of Edinburgh
HRH The Duchess of Edinburgh, the Scar Free Foundation’s Royal Patron, has instigated an international project to improve outcomes for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence. A meeting to discuss it was hosted by ReconRegen at Swansea University’s new Simulation and Immersive Learning Centre (SUSIM).
The Duchess, globally renowned Nobel Peace Prize winner, Dr Denis Mukwege, and Chief Investigator at The Scar Free Foundation Programme of Reconstructive Research, Professor Iain Whitaker, were reunited to discuss the unique collaboration.
“We wouldn’t be here today without the work of Her Royal Highness. To have her support means a lot to all of us. The war on the bodies of women is an attack on our common humanity and can never be tolerated or accepted, they are suffering only because they are women”
– Dr Denis Mukwege
Dr Mukwege has dedicated his life to treating survivors of conflict-related sexual violence. The Panzi Hospital, a centre founded by Dr Mukwege in the Democratic Republic of Congo, has cared for over 85,000 survivors of conflict-related sexual violence since its inception, offering (often complex and extensive) reconstructive surgery, psychological support, and sanctuary.
The new project, SPARC – the Swansea-Panzi Alliance for the Reconstruction & Care of victims of conflict-related sexual violence – will enable surgical expertise to be shared between UK clinicians and Panzi, DRC, with the potential to have a positive impact for survivors across the globe.
“This initiative is an opportunity to create real change and lasting impact through surgical innovation, bringing about vital physical and psychological support to survivors of conflict-related sexual violence globally”
– Lt Gen Richard Nugee (Retd)
After a recent trip to Panzi, The Duchess suggested expertise from The Scar Free Foundation could further support teams at the Panzi address the high volume of severe injuries inflicted on those who survive conflict-related sexual violence.
So earlier this year, Dr Mukwege welcomed Professor Whitaker and a team of experts to the Panzi Hospital, where Professor Whitaker shared skills in contemporary reconstructive and plastic surgery techniques.
Swansea University’s Simulation and Immersive Learning Centre, with its interactive wall technology, offered a realistic look into the initiative’s work, and provided insight into procedures and rehabilitation vital for CRSV survivors. This includes the development and use of ground breaking 3D printed surgical training prototypes – which could eventually benefit survivors of sexual violence around the world.
You can watch a video on The Duchess’s visit to Swansea University here.
Conflict-related sexual violence is described by the United Nations as a strategy ‘frequently and deliberately used to target civilians, inflicting long-term trauma and humiliation, fracturing families and the social fabric, triggering displacement and fuelling armed actors’ activities’.
Women and girls remain most at risk, especially from ‘forced pregnancy’ and ‘forced abortion’, but no one is safe from the threat of ‘rape, sexual slavery, forced prostitution,…enforced sterilization, forced marriage and any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity perpetrated against women, men, girls or boys that is directly or indirectly linked to a conflict’ according to the UN.
The UN deems conflict-related sexual violence ‘a crime that is preventable and punishable under International Human Rights Law, International Humanitarian Law and International Criminal Law’.
Despite this, it remains a frequent and deliberate tactic of conflict.
The trip to the DRC was made possible thanks to funding from the Welsh Government’s Wales and Africa Grant Scheme, Taith Research Mobility Exchange Programme, with support from The Scar Free Foundation, Health & Care Research Wales, the FCDO and the Office of The Duchess of Edinburgh.