More Aid Needed to Combat Mass Rape in the DR Congo

A new SCIAF report highlights the shocking scale of rape and sexual abuse in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and calls on the UK government to step up its efforts to end the horror and increase desperately needed care for survivors.

The report highlights that sexual violence and other human rights abuses in Eastern DRC ruin countless lives and threaten the peace and security of the troubled region.

The country is the ninth poorest country in the world according to the UN’s Human Development Index and lost four million people during wars running from 1996 to 2002 – the largest number of casualties in a conflict since the 2nd World War.

Sister Josephine Zihalirwa, who cares for rape survivors at a SCIAF funded project in the DRC, said the problem of sexual abuse is not only a problem of peace, it is also a problem of justice, and needs to be tackled on both these levels simultaneously.

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The DRC is considered to have the largest incidence of rape world-wide. In the conflict ridden east of the country, just one province - South Kivu – with a population a third of the size of Scotland - saw 4,066 cases of sexual violence reported from January to March alone. This compares to 1,123 cases of rape or attempted rape reported in Scotland in 2006-7.

The brutality of the attacks mean many victims die as a result of their injuries whilst others contract HIV/AIDS or have their reproductive systems damaged. Rape survivors often have to walk for miles to reach the nearest hospital or rural health centre but most local services are unable to cope.

Backed by a public-facing campaign, SCIAF’s new report, Ending Mass Rape in the Democratic Republic of Congo, examines the causes of the epidemic, includes case studies, and outlines how the UK government and wider international community can help rape survivors.

The report commends the Department of International Development (DFID) for its existing work to help women in the DRC but calls on Secretary of State Douglas Alexander to do more. Many thousands of women are going without the medical, psychological, legal and community-based help they urgently need.

SCIAF’s Chief Executive Paul Chitnis said,

“The urgent needs of women who have been assaulted and subject to horrific acts of sexual violence are not being met. DFID is making a significant contribution to development in the DRC but as our report shows there is scope for the department and wider international community to scale up its operation and focus its activities to help more of the many thousands of women who are receiving no help or support. Greater levels of emergency medical care and trauma counselling services are desperately needed.”

The explosion in violent sexual assaults in the country over the last ten years is closely linked to a long-running conflict in the eastern region of the DRC which has involved Congolese forces, neighbouring countries including Rwanda, and over 20 independent militias. Many believe rape has been used as a tool of war to humiliate and destroy communities.

A near total break down in law and order in the region has led to virtual impunity for perpetrators of rape and other war crimes.

The Congolese justice system is also severely under-funded, courts are short-staffed and few women have access to legal aid. The report calls on Douglas Alexander to ensure DFID works with the Congolese authorities to strengthen the justice system by providing increased funding for legal assistance to survivors of rape and by strengthening sexual violence and child protection police units.

SCIAF provides emergency medical care, trauma counselling, welfare assistance for the children born as a result of rape, and legal aid to rape survivors in the DRC, but demand is grossly outstripping the current level of services available.

The organisation also works to promote a peaceful resolution to the long-running conflict and is calling on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to do all it can to further support the fragile peace process which is being undermined by ongoing fighting in North Kivu, and ensure that women and civil society are represented at the highest levels of the negotiations.

Paul Chitnis continued:

“With virtual impunity for the perpetrators of these crimes it is vital that the UK Government supports survivors in their fight for justice. It is also vital that the UK campaigns for women to be included at the highest levels of the peace process. A meaningful, durable peace in eastern DRC will only be achieved by the active participation of women and civil society in these crucial negotiations.”

Read the case study of Aimerance Chibalonza

Find out more about the DRC and SCIAF's work

Media enquiries to:

SCIAF: Val Morgan Tel: 0141 354 5555 / Mobile: 07914 408 589

Email: vmorgan@sciaf.org.uk