Harvard applauds Nobel-winning efforts against sexual violence
When Denis Mukwege was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last month, the honor resonated at Harvard, far beyond the South Kivu hospital where the Congolese physician treats victims of wartime sexual violence. The Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, which conducts research in international trouble spots in order to inform and improve humanitarian response, has long partnered with Mukwege in efforts to respond to sexual violence as a weapon of war in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Nadia Murad, who shared the Nobel with Mukwege, also has links to Harvard, as winner of the initiative’s 2018 Weintz Humanitarian Award. A young Iraqi Yazidi and former ISIS sex slave, Murad has been outspoken in her determination to highlight the abuse she and many others have suffered. The Gazette spoke with Director Michael VanRooyen about HHI’s efforts to treat and support victims of sexual violence, as well as his relationship with the Nobel laureates. Q&A Michael VanRooyen GAZETTE: When did...