Funded by the Rotary Club Bonn-Kreuzberg. Duration 2024-2027

Participating institutions

Institute for Medical Humanities, University Hospital Art Therapy, Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Bonn, Centre d'Excellence Denis Mukwege (CEDEM), Panzi Hospital, Bukavu

Participants in the Project

Bonn | Germany

Dr.phil. Dr.rer.med.habil. Mariacarla Gadebusch Bondio, PI, Director of the Institute for Medical Humanities, University Hospital Bonn

Prof. Dr. Kathrin Seifert, Art Therapy, Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Bonn, University of applied sciences and arts, Ottersberg

Farida Fares, M.A. Art Therapy and WEB-Design

Bukavu | Congo

Agino Foussiakda Cécilia, PhD, Psychological Sciences, Msc Gender Studies, Directrice, Centre d'Excellence Dénis Mukwege, Université Evangélique en Afrique 

Juvenal Bazilashe Balegamire, PhD, Professeur à la Faculté des Sciences Sociales, Coordinateur du Master en Psychologie Clinique, Directeur du Centre de Recherches et Consultations Psychologiques (CERCOP), Université Evangélique en Afrique (UEA)

Project Description

In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), armed rebel groups have been terrorizing the Congolese population for decades. Sexualized violence against women and children is systematically used to destroy families and destabilize communities. The holistic treatment model for victims of sexualized violence established in Bukawu, South Kiwu (DRC) by gynaecologist and Nobel Prize winner Dr. Denis Mukwege has received worldwide resonance, recognition and support. The pilot cooperation project supports this successful initiative and combines art therapy with ethical objectives. Together with the psychotherapists at the Panzi Hospital, art therapy measures are being developed to support victims of sexualized violence and enable them to produce testimonies that tell of their experiences. In addition to strengthening female identity in patriarchal settings, art therapy is intended to help in the lengthy rehabilitation process that follows stigmatizing violence. The testimonies generated in the therapeutic encounter are processed on the basis of intercultural and ethical reflection in the historical-political context of the conflict and presented in museum spaces on site and virtually. Global responsibility and its implications are also made clear.The interaction between psychotherapists, art therapists and medical ethicists from Germany and Congo currently takes place in virtual meetings and hybrid formats of art therapy training for psychotherapists. A multifunctional platform serves as a digital studio and, in the future, as a space for a digital exhibition.