Congo Sexual Violence

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Abstract

Sexual Violence and the prevalence of rape in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been greatly explored, with much of the attention focusing on gender-based violence throughout armed-conflict. Congolese women have experienced these horrific acts of sexual violence first-hand, with the Congolese army, Forces Armées de la République Démocratique du Congo, (FARDC) being the main perpetrator. This paper examines the application of rape as a weapon of war and the effects on sexual violence in the DRC. Highlighting the severity of women’s response to violence, this paper provides an insight into the recent and continuous conflict in the DRC throughout the past decades. Accordingly, the paper addresses the need not only take action …show more content…
Even though sexual violence in the DRC has occurred throughout history, including throughout the colonial era in which mass rape used as a major tactic in conflict, sexual violence is still seen as a critical part of recent armed- conflict and current gender-based violence. During wartime and conflict, sexual violence and rape are often dubbed as “inevitable”, as they have been proven to be one of the most common and widespread weapons used throughout history. With the DRC being named “the rape capital of the world”, there is much concern surrounding the climate of sexual violence in the Congo, more importantly the DRC. Through the examination of the recent warfare in the Democratic Republic of Congo, this paper focuses on sexual violence during conflict and its effects on women, the usage of rape as a strategy of war, the status of women and their response as civilians and victims, and the importance of implementing gender …show more content…
Firstly, sexual violence can be viewed as an act of unwanted sexual contact that usually involves coercion, threat and force upon a person ( ). Whereas, rape can be viewed as an extreme act of violence enacted by sexual means in which is used to regulate power relations between genders. (Seifert ADD YEAR, 2). Sexual violence and rape have many damaging consequences both physically and emotionally, and physiologically and socially. As a result of this, these ramifications effect both the individual and society. Civilians in which experience sexual violence (the survivors) -- who are typically women -- suffer from physical effects including vaginal injuries and sexually transmitted diseases. The younger the female, the more severe the medical complications. In addition, shame and rejection are also experienced by women as, “Victims of rape are commonly disowned by their families, . . . children born out of rape are very often rejected by the community. This is especially true given that the stigma and shame associated with rape in peacetime continues during conflicts, even when sexual violence is widespread” (Aroussi 2017, 491). Not only are the effects of sexual violence against women during conflict significant, but even during post-conflict the climate of rape remains ruthless towards the female gender. This is because the corrupt tolerance and
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