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Title: Traumatic exposure and psycho-cognitive functioning in situations of armed conflict: the case of women victims of rape and sexual violence in the East of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

By: Nyandu Kasali Honnête, Ph.D. Student, School of Psychology, Université Laval

Supervisors: Isabelle Blanchette, Professor at l’Université Laval, supervisor; Serge Caparos, Lecturer at l’Université Paris 8, co-supervisor

Research Problem

The Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is one of the most unstable regions on the planet, with successive wars and armed conflicts. In addition to multiple consequences, there is a resurgence of rape and sexual violence against women as a weapon of war (Maertens de Noordhout, 2013; Moufflet, 2009).

Research documents the intrapersonal repercussions of rape as a potentially traumatic event for the victim (Ainamani et al., 2017; Qureshi et al., 2011). The literature on this subject indicates an association between this traumatic exposure and psychopathological manifestations, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other trauma-related psychopathological disorders, depression, and anxiety (Brown et al., 1987; Brown & Harris, 1978; Brown et al., 1978), alcohol and substance abuse, etc. (Catani et al., 2008; Hecker et al., 2015).

The cognitive impacts of these events are less studied, although the cognitive repercussions of trauma in general are beginning to be documented (Ainamani et al., 2017; Baker et al., 2005; Blanchette et al., 2019; Brown et al., 1987; Goumbri et al., 2015, 2016; Kasali, 2019; Mgoqi-Mbalo et al., 2017; Schalinski et al., 2011; Scott et al., 2015).

This thesis aims to explore the psychological experiences of women who are victims of rape and sexual violence in the context of wars and armed conflicts, and to analyze the impact on cognitive functioning, both from traumatic exposure and from the psychopathological disorders developed by these women.

The impact of psychosocial support on the trajectories of women will also be evaluated. The project therefore uses a longitudinal approach, where survivors of rape and sexual violence will be assessed upon admission to the care facilities at the Panzi Hospital and Foundation in Bukavu, South Kivu province in the DRC, and reassessed six months after the start of the intervention.

The project aims to address four specific questions, namely:

1. What difference exists between the traumatic impact of rape and other traumatic events?

2. What is the relationship between rape, psychopathological disorders, and the cognitive functioning of victims?

3. Does cognitive dysfunction predispose one to psychopathology or is it a consequence of exposure to traumatic situations?

4. What are the clinical, sociodemographic, and cultural variables that may influence this relationship?

In this research, we focused on three cognitive functions: attention, working memory, and inhibition. The literature on these functions, on one hand, and on the psychological experiences of women survivors of sexual violence, on the other hand, shows that these functions are more solicited for successful reintegration and social adaptation of women survivors of rape and sexual violence.