THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF  CONGO

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has endured decades of civil war, the deaths of 5.4 million people as a result of violence, hunger, and disease, and seen its health infrastructure decimated.  While the war officially came to an end years ago, the eastern part of DRC remains one of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis zones - violence is rampant and rape against women and children continues to escalate. The conflict is partly fueled by the country’s vast natural resources, including gold, diamonds, and minerals, as rebel groups fight for control, terrorize civilians, and leave millions suffering from an ongoing cycle of conflict and displacement.

Since 1996, sexual violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been used to torture and humiliate women and girls and destroy families. Hundreds of thousands of women and girls have been raped since the conflict began. In addition to the severe psychological impact, sexual violence leaves many survivors with genital lesions, traumatic fistulae, severed and broken limbs, unwanted pregnancies, and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV. Survivors are regularly ostracized and abandoned by their families and communities.

Although there are many humanitarian needs in the world, the case of the Congo, has been deemed to have the worst sexual violence in the world by John Holmes, UN Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs. In 2010 alone, it is estimated that 15,000 women were raped in Eastern Congo Our focus needs to be on the survivors and helping empower themselves going forward.



International Medical Corps. Copyright 2007.

All Rights Reserved. Photograph taken by Margaret Aguirre.