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The article focuses on the ordeals of Melanie in the war in the Congos. It discusses her efforts to deal with the trauma of being sick and gripped with fear amidst the shootings and bombings, being separated from her family, and becoming a refugee. Also related are her experiences in a refugee camp in Gabon including discrimination from both the Catholic and Protestant churches, being raped by a Congolese priest, and marrying a fellow Congolese to protect herself.

The article presents a vivid picture of the horrid results of subjection on women in the Republic of Congo. According to the article, a different kind of rampant prostitution has become very prevalent in Congo-Brazzaville and young women were forced into it because the parents could no longer provide for them. It says that there are five major areas where women are particularly abused which are in the home, at school, at work, at church and in war.