Disturbing New Trend as Rape of Women and Children Continues in Democratic Republic of Congo; Desperate Need for Expanded Medical, Mental Health Care and Livelihoods Support
Despite a recently signed peace agreement between warring government and rebel factions, violent conflict has raged on in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and alarming numbers of women and children continue to be targeted for rape and sexual violence.
In the North and South Kivu provinces, rape is commonly used as a weapon to terrorize and subjugate the local population. According to the United Nations, there have been more than 32,000 rapes registered in South Kivu since 2005. The problem of sexual violence has worsened in particular in North Kivu in recent months, with an escalation of violence between government and rebel troops that has displaced about 400,000 people. Sexual- and gender-based violence (SGBV) frequently emerges from the breakdown of social ties and relationships that occur with large displacement, and in these situations women’s vulnerable status in host communities renders them more susceptible to SGBV.
Disturbingly, according to a UN report on sexual violence in DRC, a new trend to this crisis is emerging, reflecting the breakdown of the social fabric in the region: in previous years the primary perpetrators of rape and other forms of sexual violence were soldiers, whereas today these acts are increasingly being committed by civilians. Civilians reportedly account for 60 percent of the acts of sexual violence, nearly double the figure in 2006.
“This signals a troubling shift in perception toward women, girls, and other vulnerable groups that will take years to reverse,” said Birame Sarr, International Medical Corps Country Director in DRC.
International Medical Corps, which has been operating in these most volatile regions of DRC since the mid-90’s, is extremely concerned about this ongoing epidemic of rape, its increasing acceptance in society, and the lack of resources and awareness to combat it.
The Immediate and Long-term Impact of Sexual- and Gender-Based Violence
SGBV, including rape, presents a severe social and public health problem in the Kivu provinces. Women and young girls are experiencing rape by armed forces – among whom HIV/AIDS rates are particularly high – as well as members of their own community.
Compounding the tragedy is that victims often must suffer in secret through their physical and mental trauma. The stigma surrounding SGBV and the tendency to “blame the victim” keeps many women from seeking care; frequently they share their experience only once complications become unmanageable and require medical or psychological attention.
Aid agencies estimate that tens of thousands of women in the region suffer physically and emotionally from severe gynecological injuries resulting from SGBV. Yet few health structures have protocols, adequately trained staff, or drugs and equipment to manage the immediate consequences of rape. And other support services are rarely available to women trying to recover over the longer term.
As Dr. Denis Mukwege, renowned gynecologist and surgeon who has treated thousands of rape survivors at Panzi Hospital in Bukavu explains: “We still have the difficulty of being able to identify how many women are needing and waiting (for treatment). Who knows about those who wait and cannot speak and are left to die slowly?”
Programs to Heal the Physical and Emotional Wounds
To counter the SGBV epidemic and address women’s physical as well as emotional suffering, International Medical Corps trains health care personnel to identify the signs of violence and rape, and administers trauma care, including rape kits and emergency obstetrics. International Medicla Corps emphasizes female participation in program planning to ensure their representation throughout the health care delivery system, and provides training on issues surrounding SGBV. This includes supporting Panzi Hospital, which itself has cared for more than 15,000 victims of SGBV since 1999.
International Medical Corps is also helping rehabilitate health care infrastructure and provide education and on-the-job training for local doctors, nurses and other health care workers. Currently, we support three district hospitals and some 60 health centers in North and South Kivu, serving more than 470,000 people, over 80 percent of them displaced by ongoing insecurity.
To help survivors of SGBV get back on their feet, International Medical Corps has implemented economic livelihood programs, including the provision of agriculture and sewing tools, as well as education and training, aimed at giving women the skills and psychosocial support they need to care for themselves and their children, both financially and emotionally.
While these programs are making a measurable impact, much more is needed to not only alleviate the suffering of innocent women and children, but also to address the underlying cultural factors that allow this epidemic of sexual violence to thrive. This includes expanded and comprehensive medical, psychosocial and livelihood empowerment services, education and awareness campaigns to reverse practices that increasingly favor SGBV, and strengthened local community mechanisms and judiciary systems responsible for protecting the law and its citizens.
“There is an urgent need for International Medical Corps and other humanitarian actors to employ integrated and community-based strategies for addressing sexual violence, meeting survivors’ short- and long-term needs, and empowering communities to identify the root causes of SGBV and enable prevention, justice, and healing,” Sarr said.