In DRC, there is no end to the terrible experiences of rape
By CARE
Elisabeth Roesch is CARE’s gender and advocacy advisor based in Goma, DRC.
Goma, Nov. 7, 2008 – I’ve been in the DRC for a year, working with women who have experienced abuse and violence and talking to them about the impact that this has had on their lives. Thanks to numerous news articles and increasing international attention, the horrific nature of sexual violence here in Congo is becoming known in the world. But nothing has really prepared me for the stories that I have heard, and each time I speak with women, I am saddened to find that there is no end to the terrible experiences of rape, torture and mutilation.
“Rape is a weapon of war” has become a catchphrase, but when you talk to survivors of violence, you realize how this weapon operates. Rape doesn’t simply destroy women, it destroys families and communities.
Attacked, sometimes in front of their families and neighbors, publicly humiliated, and terrorized by physical torture, women bear deep physical as well as emotional scars. Husbands find themselves diminished, unable to protect their wives and children from violence. They suffer shame. And when those who are usually the most protected, children and the elderly, are being victimized, I think that it is a clear indication of how war destroys social values. Such violence leaves a legacy. As CARE’s work in post-conflict areas in the DRC shows, rape remains a problem even after war ends, with civilians being the main perpetrators.
The other day, I asked a young girl who fled the most recent fighting, when she would go back home, and she replied “as long as there is war, we won’t go back – how can we go back and risk being raped? When we go for water, when we go to the fields, we are afraid.” Other women nodded in agreement, and suddenly I understood how effective rape is at terrorizing communities. The mere rumor of an attack will send people running in fear. And the women I saw, who were seeking shelter in an orphanage on the outskirts of Goma, were so angry that nobody could protect them. Often women and girls are afraid to speak out, scared of reprisals by the armed men who attacked them and who sometimes remain nearby, but this group was vocal and insistent, demanding protection and an end to fighting.
CARE is working with women to meet critical needs, not forgetting that responding to sexual violence is a priority from the very outset of an emergency. CARE is supporting health centers so that rape survivors can receive medical care and is mobilizing communities in displacement sites to talk about sexual violence, ensure that people have knowledge about services, and create protection plans to prevent continued violence against women.
Tags: Congo, Girls, Weapon of War, Women
January 31st, 2009 at 07:31
Why are these rapes happening? Rape has always been used as a weapon of war, but even during the peaceful intervals in the DRC, the epidemic of rape continued. Answers may lie in the traditionally low status accorded to women. While Dr. Mukwege of Panzi Hospital in Burkvu, DRC, and many other dedicated physicians struggle to treat rape victims’ physical and emotional injuries, little progress has been made in addressing the driving forces that contribute to sexual violence and the resulting transmission of HIV and STI’s. At least two sets of societal factors that affect HIV risk and vulnerability but have not been effectively addressed in most countries are gender inequality and the lack of empowerment of women and girls and discrimination, stigma, and social marginalization (UN AIDS report). The report stresses the need for programmes designed to achieve human rights standards relevant to HIV, such as protection from sexual violence, gender equality, education, information, health, employment, access to scientific progress. (UNAIDS Report, 66)
Dietary taboos such as the prohibition in some villages barring women from eating chicken and eggs, significant in that chicken often is one of few sources of protein. 9) The loss of nationality by a non-Congolese woman who marries a Congolese man, contrary to the CEDEF [convention on elimination of all forms of discrimination regarding women adopted in 1979]. 10) The father has the right to name a child where father and mother disagree, also contrary to the CEDEF. 11) The wife’s domicile is that of her husband, but not the contrary. 12) Legal age of a girl to marry is 15, but for a male, 18, contrary to the Constitution; 13) A wife must live wherever her husband chooses. 14) Adultery is sanctioned differently for the woman than for the man. (Janine Kewang a Nwal, Discrimination Against Women: Questions Linked to Gender in Congolese Society, Unpublished Document Obtained from the author, Goma, DRC, May, 2008)
The DRC guarantees such human rights in its Constitution adopted in 2005 and constitution outlaws many of the oppressive traditions, but its provisions remain unenforced. The “bill of rights” of the constitution is contained in some fifty articles, guaranteeing personal, political, economic, social and cultural rights. Key provisions aimed at equality of the sexes that remain largely ignored, either by neglect or the inability of authorities to effect them, include: Equal protection under the law (Article 12); Protection from any discrimination on account of religion, family origin, social condition, residence, opinions, political convictions, race, ethnicity, tribe or cultural or linguistic minority in matters of education and public functions, (Article 13); A duty upon public officials to eliminate all forms of sexual discrimination toward women, to take action in all areas-civil, political, economic, social and cultural-to assure the total épanouissement (opening, flowering, blossoming) and full participation of women in development of the nation; to take measures to combat all forms of violence against women in public and private life; the right to equitable representation within national, provincial and local institutions; a guarantee to implement male/female parity in the aforementioned institutions (Article 14); Public officials are to see to the elimination of sexual violence and all sexual violence intended to destabilize, dislocate a family and eliminate an entire people is established as a crime against humanity punished by law (Article 15); The right to an education (Article43); The right to health and food (Article 47)
There are many traditions and laws that contribute to the suppression and victimization of women, including statutes that conflict with the Constitution. Janine Kewang à Nwal, PhD., a law professor and women’s rights advocate at the law school in Goma, DRC, has enumerated several.She cites 1) the high rate of illiteracy among women 2) a woman must still seek her spouse’s written permission to work or to open a bank account; 5) a tradition that marriage is not recognized by the community unless a dowry is paid; 6) illegality of abortions, even when pregnancy resulted from rape; 7) widows and daughters are excluded from inheritance, notwithstanding that the Family Code provides for equal inheritance for women and daughters
Notwithstanding the lofty aims and guarantees of the Constitution, oppressive traditions and customs entrenched in DRC life trump the law and remain a root cause of the phenomenon of rape with impunity and the transmission of STI’s. Unless and until the status of women as equals is accepted by Congolese men and safeguarded by vigorous enforcement of the law, women they will continue to be exploited, raped, infected with STD’s and die from acts of violence not only in times of conflict but also during periods of calm. [Foregoing extracted from draft of commentary, "TRANSMISSION OF HIV BY RAPE: MISCEGENATION AND FEMICIDE AT WORK IN SUB SAHARAN AFRICA"]