AJV

Judicial Support for Victims of Violence (AJV) is a group of lawyers who provide free legal aid to survivors of sexual violence and children born as a result of rape. With their support, women are able to bring their attackers to justice and ‘rape children’ are given an opportunity to become recognised as legal citizens.

Decades of fighting in the eastern DRC has led to a near total breakdown of law and order. Sexual violence, which is often used as a weapon of war, has become so widespread that in some parts of the South Kivu, it is estimated that 70% of women have been raped.

Literally thousands of women and young girls are being attacked but only a tiny number of perpetrators have stood trial and even fewer have been found guilty. AJV is working to overturn this culture of impunity.

SCIAF funding enables AJV to provide survivors of sexual violence with free legal support. They accompany women who are bravely seeking justice and actively work to see rapists prosecuted and jailed.

Congelese newborns have to be registered within a month of birth to be recognised as legal citizens by the state. Often, women who become pregnant as a result of rape are too traumatised to register their babies in time. Without an official birth certificate, these children have no legal rights and can not get a place at school.

Applying to register a child after the deadline results in lengthy court proceedings and expensive legal costs, which many survivors of sexual violence simply cannot afford to pay. AJV offers free legal assistance to these mothers and children, and covers the cost of court proceedings so that children born of rape can become legally recognised.