Congo: Anniversary marred by brutalisation of women

Rachel Widuhaye attends listening room sessions where women can talk about when they were raped. [Pascale Palmer]

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) celebrates 50 years of independence, but in the eastern region of the country one woman is being raped every 30 minutes

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For four years, our partners in Bukavu, Sud-Kivu have been working with women who have been sexually attacked and have first-hand understanding of the situation on the ground in DRC.

As the country celebrates its fiftieth anniversary, Father Justin Nkunzi, from the Bukavu Justice and Peace Commission, is saddened by this harsh reality. He said: ‘Recent progress towards democracy is welcome, but with organised clusters of militias plundering the country's natural resources and attacking villages, the systematic destabilisation of communities through the rape of women continues almost unabated. And with little hope of legal redress, and entrenched cultural stigmatisation, these women are a silent social crisis.’

An estimated 5.4 million have died from the effects of the country’s two recent wars; more than 2.7 million of them children. Meanwhile, the rape of women and girls by militia groups continues with near-impunity. In the diocese of Bukavu alone, more than 200,000 rapes have been registered and many hundreds of thousands more go unreported.

Working for hope

CAFOD funds psychosocial projects in Bukavu offering medical referral and counselling to women who have suffered sexual violence. Through our network of Listening Rooms women come together to talk about their experiences at the hands of militia groups, learn a trade and start to understand they are not alone and what has happened to them is not their fault.

Rob Rees, CAFOD’s Pan Africa Advocacy Co-ordinator, says: ‘The anniversary is a significant milestone for DRC in the journey from Belgian colony to its struggle now to create a new identity as a fully democratic state in Africa.
‘It is an opportunity look to a more prosperous future, although there are still enormous problems to overcome. It is an opportunity to be hopeful.

"Above all else, the international community, and the UK in particular, must not give up on DRC, thinking it is too difficult to make any difference. More people have lost their lives as a result of war or its consequences in Eastern DRC than in any other conflict since the end of World War II and people will continue to die and be raped in large numbers without efforts being made - primarily by the DRC government but also by countries which support it.”

Congo Actions

Give to the Congo Crisis Appeal Make a donation to help those affected by the crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo - please support our charity work there. A gift from you really will make a difference to thousands of people

50 years, 50 faces (21.06 kB) To raise awareness of the situation in DRC, CAFOD is running a photo and film exhibition, featuring some of the women and girls attending the Listening Rooms in Sud-Kivu.

Congo Now! CAFOD is part of the Congo Now! network of more than 30 UK and Congolese organisations. To mark the 50th anniversary of independence of DRC the coalition will be holding a series of events.

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