Traumatic Fistula

Traumatic fistula is a condition that can occur as the result of sexual violence, often in conflict and postconflict settings. There are no solid estimates of its prevalence, but traumatic gynecologic fistula can make up a significant part of the overall genital fistula caseload in places where sexual violence has been used as a weapon of war.

Rape, often aggravated by the thrusting of objects into the vagina, can result in a hole between a woman’s vagina and bladder or rectum, or both, resulting in the leaking of urine and/or feces. Survivors of sexual assault may have additional, severe physical injuries and are at an increased risk for unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. Survivors live not only with chronic incontinence, but also with the psychological trauma and stigma of rape.

Resources related to Traumatic Fistula

Frequency and management of non-obstetric fistula in the Democratic Republic of Congo: Experience from the Fistula Care Plus project. Trop Med Int Health, June 2020. In order to describe the frequency, causes and post‐repair outcomes of non-obstetric fistula (NOF) in hospitals supported by the Fistula Care Plus (FC+) project in the Democratic Republic of Congo, FC+ staff and partners conducted a retrospective cohort study from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2017 in three FC + supported fistula repair sites. Of 1984 women treated for female genital fistula between 2015 and 2017 in the three FC + supported hospitals, 384 (19%) were considered to be NOF cases.