sexual violence

Women in DRC don’t have the same rights as men and don’t always get treated fairly. There is a lot of violence against women, including sexual violence. Sexual violence has been used as a weapon of war against women and girls by most forces involved in the conflict in the DRC. It is not possible to say exactly how many women have been victims as many women are scared that their attackers will get revenge on them if they speak out or that their communities and families will reject them. There is a lot of dishonour attached to being raped in DRC.

Child victims of sexual violence have been reported as young as five years old, the psychological, physical and social effects can be impossible for children to ever recover from. Young girls who are raped find it really difficult to marry later in life as there is a huge amount of shame and stigma attached to rape. Many women and girls are rejected by their families, especially if they end up pregnant; because of the strong social stigma many victims do not seek medical help. Many women are killed or receive terrible injuries during these attacks.

Rape and violence against women was originally used by soldiers as a way of humiliating the enemy. The men who do this almost never get sent to jail as many women never tell anyone and because of the prevailing climate of impunity. The affect of all this is that women are being hurt and damaged along with the chance of peace.