by Laura Hirahara
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa
Democratic Republic of Congo– An upcoming report in the American Journal of Public Health has revealed that more than 420,000 women are raped annually in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This number is significantly higher than those being reported by other organizations, like the UN, who previously estimated a figure closer to 16,000 annually. However, the AJPH study is based on a 2007 nation-wide survey that also found 1.7 million women in the DRC will be raped at some point in their lives and an additional 3 million will be raped by an intimate partner. The report, which will be released this June, reads “Not only is sexual violence more generalized than previously thought, but our findings suggest that future policies and programs should focus on abuse within families[.]”
Previously, an accurate accounting of rape in the DRC has been made difficult by the instability of the region. The DRC is still suffering the effects of the civil war that officially ended in 2003. Since that time, rebel factions have terrorized civilian populations in an effort to gain control of mineral deposits located primarily in the east. Rape has become a common weapon and while some men and boys are victims, women are the primary target. Tony Gambino, the Congo mission director for United States Agency for International Development (USAID), told ABC News, “The worst violence is done by armed boys and men, many of whom are in the Congolese military.”
A number of factors play into the lack of accountability for the crime. Throughout most of the country, women who are raped are disowned by their families and try to hide the rape rather than speak about it. Tia Palermo, a co-author of the AJPH study, told ABC News, “There is stigma, shame and impunity so why bother reporting a rape if nothing is going to happen. We know from other conflict regions that less than half of rape victims report their abuse.” Additionally, even when perpetrators are arrested for rape it is likely they will receive light sentences or simply escape from jail, as a March report from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights stated. As Gambino told ABC, “Because officials can be paid off, even a small fish can get out of prison for $5 in the Congo.”
While the February conviction of Lt. Col. Kibibi Mutuare and 10 of the soldiers under his command for the rape of dozens of women in a small South Kivu village over New Years brought 49 women to court to testify, many believe the perception of women in the DRC needs to change. Melanne Verveer, U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues, said, “The DRC cannot move ahead without the full inclusion of women politically . . . . economically, through agriculture and beyond, and socially, through a robust civil society movement. . . .Investing in women is not only the right thing to do; it’s the smart thing to do.”
For more information, please see;
NYT– Notes From a Young American in Congo: The Stigma of Rape– 6 May, 2011
USA Today– 420K Congolese Women are Raped Each Year– 11 May, 2011
SF Chronicle– Congo Rape Problem More Widespread Than Thought, Study Shows– 12 May, 2011
ABC News– Nearly Every Minute a Woman is Raped in the Congo– 13 May, 2011
VOA News– Curbing DC’s Gender-based Violence– 13 May, 2011
