Family relationships defined by rape

Helen Vesperini, Jenda

Following the 1994 genocide, Angelique was fortunate enough to find a husband willing not only to bring up a child who is not his own, but who went as far as telling his own family the child was his to ensure he would be accepted in the family.

“I love my husband because he has shown love towards my child. I’m thankful to him for that,” said Angelique, huddling under a length of yellow cotton fabric for warmth in the perpetual damp of this valley in the hills of northwestern Rwanda.