Raped and tortured by IS, Yazidi women recover in Germany

A teenage Yazidi girl described how she burned herself alive to escape rape and torture by the Islamic State terror group. When she heard voices of men outside her tent, she thought the “IS” fighters had found her and subsequently set herself alight and burned her hair and face in order to avoid further abuse.

Today, she lives in Germany receiving specialist psychological treatment. A German regional government has flown in 1,100 women and girls from refugee camps in the Middle East and provides psychological support.

“It is very important to tell our stories because the world should know what happened to us, so that it doesn’t happen again”, she says.

Besides painful injuries, rape survivors suffer from intense emotional and psychological trauma. The Mukwege Foudation supports the holistic healing model of the Panzi Foundation which includes specialized psychosocial assistance and medical care. Learn more about the Panzi programmes here.