Return to Rwanda: the woman dedicating her life to ending gender-based violence

Sabine Nkusi listening to a survivor. Photograph: Kevine Uwase/Tearfund 2026 View image in fullscreen Sabine Nkusi listening to a survivor. Photograph: Kevine Uwase/Tearfund 2026 Return to Rwanda: the woman dedicating her life to ending gender-based violence Sabine Nkusi, who fled Kigali during the genocide, leads initiative aimed at challenging stigma of sexual violence As a 14-year-old, Sabine Nkusi witnessed the horrors of the genocide against the Tutsi in her home country of Rwanda. Fleeing Kigali with her parents, brother and sister, she saw women lying dead , many who had been the victim of sexual abuse. She vowed to God that if she survived, she would dedicate her life to trying to give dignity to women who suffered this unspeakable brutality. “I said to God … if I’m ever going to make it out of here … I want to be part of something … a vehicle to end that sort of violence.” More than 30 years later, Nkusi is back in Kigali in her role as the lead on gender and sexual-based violence for the UK-based Christian development charity Tearfund. For the past decade, she has been running retreats where survivors are encouraged to share their stories, both with each other and with faith leaders, and to engage in advocacy, developing strong local networks. Her team has led 12 retreats, mainly in African countries, but also in Asia. In an interview in Kigali, Nkusi said returning to the city to lead a workshop for 12 survivors of abuse “feels right”. At the workshop, Francine* told how she had contracted HIV from her abusive partner after working as a sex worker in order to feed the siblings she was left to care for when separated from her parents during the genocide. “You can feel very isolated because you are stigmatised,” she said. “But I’ve come to see that I am valued.” The act of sharing is seen as part of the healing process for these women. As Nkusi explained, often women are blamed for what has happened to them, and breaking the silence around their experiences is key to their healing. View image in fullscreen Nkusi leading a Journey to Healing retreat in Kigali. Photograph: Kevine Uwase/Tearfund 2026Nkusi thinks it is possible to end gender-based violence in her lifetime, despite the grim data. According to the UN, one in three women globally have experienced sexual and gender-based violence, in most cases within their own relationships.