Trauma and "spiritual resilience" among Internally Displaced Women (IDW) victims of violence in the commune of Dédougou, Burkina Faso.

CONTEXT: Since 2015, Burkina Faso has been ravaged by the violence of armed terrorist groups (JNIM, EIGS), resulting in over 2 million internally displaced persons. In the Boucle du Mouhoun region, 63.17% of internally displaced persons (IDPs) are women (84,649 out of 133,994 in 2023). As prime targets of armed conflict, they suffer multifaceted violence used as a weapon of psychological warfare against communities.

METHODS

The study uses a convergent mixed-methods design conducted in October 2023 in the commune of Dédougou. The total sample size is 1,056 participants, including 1,015 IDPs surveyed using a digital questionnaire (KoboToolbox) and 41 individuals interviewed through semi-structured interviews. Quantitative data were analyzed using IBM SPSS 20, and qualitative data through thematic analysis.

RESULTS

The profile of the IDF reveals a majority of female farmers (51.4%), married (74.8%) or widowed (15.2%), with 43.9% having 4 to 6 dependent children. Statistically significant correlations were established between the year of displacement and physical (r = 0.074; p = 0.019) and psychological (r = 0.072; p = 0.022) violence. Nearly 46.3% of the IDF lost a loved one in horrific circumstances (throat-slitting, immolation, mass executions), resulting in severe post-traumatic stress disorder: chronic insomnia, flashbacks, mutism, and suicidal ideation. Faced with this trauma, prayer (39.74%) and silence (23.36%) constituted the main coping strategies. Despite the free psychological support provided by NGOs, the vast majority of IDFs do not access it, hampered by a lack of awareness of the services, their geographical dispersion, and a negative perception of psychological care.

CONCLUSION

These results call for culturally grounded psychosocial interventions that integrate the spiritual dimension into therapeutic protocols and prioritize isolated widows and women with significant family responsibilities.