Sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Eleven years after the Republic of the Congo gained independence in 1960, president Mobutu renamed the country Zaire in 1971 and ruled the nation under an autocratic and corrupt regime.
While the Congolese army and UN peacekeepers attempted to launch large operations, they still ultimately failed to disarm Hutu rebels who often retaliated by performing rapes, kidnappings and murders.
Spurred by the violence, the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (AFDL), led by Laurent Kabila, launched a rebellion against Mobutu regime in 1996 in the eastern part of the country.
That coincides with the waves of Hutu militiamen who escaped into Congo's forests after exterminating 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus during Rwanda's genocide 13 years ago.
[32][clarification needed] It is used to humiliate, torture, and punish "rebellious" women for directly challenging what the rapists view as strictly enshrined ideas of femininity and masculinity.
[32] The systematic rape of women in the DRC is regarded as a tool of oppression focused on a specific ethnic group and is generalized through terror that is justified through established national discourses[clarify].
[32] During times of war, mass rape can be seen as an effective way to "feminize" one's enemy by violating "his women, nation and homeland", thus proving that he is incapable of being an adequate protector.
[4] The DRC is said to be the main regional source, from which women and children are trafficked in large numbers to sex industries in Angola, South Africa, Republic of Congo, and western Europe, particularly Belgium.
[39] However, reporting domestic violence is rare because women have no rights to share property or wealth, fear losing their children or being shunned by the community, or may not even know it is a punishable offense.
[3] In 2007, the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) reported that 54% of all recorded sexual violence cases in the first 6 months of that year were committed by FARDC soldiers.
[38] In 1908, under King Leopold II, the "methodical rape of entire villages" was a popular tactic used by his administration for keeping the local population in order.
[44] Consistent with these studies is a statement from Dr. Margaret Agama, the DRC's United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) representative: Initially, rape was used as a tool of war by all the belligerent forces involved in the country's recent conflicts, but now sexual violence is unfortunately not only perpetrated by armed factions but also by ordinary people occupying positions of authority, neighbours, friends and family members.
[45] And according to a 2010 UNICEF report, 46% of Congolese schoolgirls in a national study confirmed that they had been victims of sexual harassment, abuse, and violence committed by their teachers or other school personnel.
[45] A 2010 survey in over 1,000 households in eastern Congo by a team of researchers led by Harvard academic Lynn Lawry asked victims of sexual violence to specify their assailant's gender.
Among some 26,000 people expelled since April 2011, more than 21,000 cases of serious human rights violations, including rape, beating, torture and looting, have been documented by an Italian aid agency that has a UN grant to monitor the border.
[47] The medical repercussions of the sexual assault in the DRC vary from severed and broken limbs, burned flesh, rectovaginal and vesicovaginal fistulas, STIs, pregnancy, and urinary incontinence to death.
"[7] At the Doctors on Call for Service/Heal Africa Hospital in Eastern DRC, 4,715 of the women reported having suffered sexual violence; 4,009 received medical treatment; 702 had a fistula, 63.4% being traumatic and 36.6% being obstetric.
[50] A study conducted found that sociocultural barriers and strict obedience to Vatican doctrine prevented adolescents from receiving condoms or comprehensive sex education, which contributes to the spread of HIV.
[53] The most extreme versions of this stigmatization can lead to "honor killings" in which the victim of sexual violence is murdered by her family or community due to the belief that she has brought them shame and dishonor.
A previous child soldier of the Mai-Mai fighters' movement, who fought to resist the Interahamwe from Rwanda who took refuge in the DRC after they fled from the Rwandan Patriotic Front, said that reasons that child soldiers and other combatants rape women include: listening to witch doctors' advice, drug use, long periods in bush, gaining sexual experience, punishment, revenge, and a weapon of war.
[6] Increasing awareness regarding the problem of sexual violence in the DRC has led to both national and international efforts to prevent the continuation of the atrocities taking place.
[26] In September 2009, following her visit to the DRC, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton oversaw the adoption of the U.N Security Council Resolution 1888, which details specific efforts that must be taken to protect women from sexual violence in war-stricken regions, and measures taken to bring perpetrators to justice.
[66][67] According to Tier Rating, the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo does not comply with minimum standards for efforts to eliminate this problem by prosecuting perpetrators and providing services to victims.
[70] Intervention programs addressing sexual violence in conflict areas typically prioritize survivor-oriented services, offering medical, psychological, judicial, and socioeconomic assistance to victims.
Despite this, major organizations like the World Bank and the United Nations tend to prioritize survivor support over prevention, reflecting a gap between academic insights and practical implementations.
[77] Concerns have arisen regarding the rapid escalation of international interventions targeting sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), notably the surge in projects during 2010 and 2011.
Simplifications in the response raised doubts about its effectiveness and impact on women's empowerment, with some programs only available for victims of sexual assaults resulting in an influx of false claims.
However, by 2014, signs of progress emerged, with a shift towards more coordinated and community-based interventions addressing broader issues of gender-based violence and promoting women's empowerment[78] Challenges persist due to limited resources and infrastructure, with most aid focused on conflict-affected eastern provinces.
[41] The data collected from the interviews provided detailed accounts and useful information on how the soldiers understood their identities, their roles as combatants and the amount of pain they inflicted onto their victims.
[41] Because manhood was closely linked to material wealth their choice to join the armed forces was not a vengeful call for violence or revenge but a fall back option because of unfortunate circumstances.
