Abstract
Talking about rape, including genocidal rape and war, is not easy. However, it is also said that the threat to life enhances the will to live. Humans have the capacity to respond to everyday life with its challenges and adversities in a positive, resilient way. A considerable amount of literature in psychology, psychiatry, and other branches of the social sciences focuses on trauma and explores its harmful consequences on women’s health. Yet the literature addressing resilience and post-traumatic growth also shows that health can follow trauma. This article explores the transformative power of resilience in women who are victims of war. Specific stories of resilient women who suffered genocidal rape amid war are provided throughout the paper. The article also contributes to the existing body of literature by examining how these women transcend their experiences of trauma and find new meaning in life. Alongside discussing the role of spirituality in post-traumatic growth, the role of pharmacotherapy and other mainstream sources of help in guiding women victim-survivors to stimulate the resilience process is addressed.
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Isgandarova, N. Post-traumatic Growth and Resilience in Victim-Survivors of Genocidal Rape. Pastoral Psychol 72, 417–430 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-023-01064-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-023-01064-0