Congo’s eastern provinces have been plagued by conflict for more than two decades.Rape has become a weapon for the warring factions still fighting there despite the presence of the world’s largest UN peacekeeping mission.
More than 5,000 women were raped in South Kivu alone during 2009, according to the UN. A majority were raped by soldiers or armed rebels.
But studies have found an increase in rapes committed by civilians over the last years.
But studies have found an increase in rapes committed by civilians over the last years.
A study published by Oxfam and Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (HHI) in April 2010, was based on interviews with 4,311 female survivors of rape treated within previous phases of the SSV-project (Survivors of Sexual Violence) at Panzi Hospital.
The study found an increase in number of civilian rapes among the patients treated in the SSV-project.
The number of reported civilian rapes among patients admitted to the SSV-project in 2008 was 11 per cent and in 2009 it increased to 15 per cent. From July 2009 to June 2010 the figure had further increased to 18 per cent.
The challenge for the survivors of sexual violence and women with gynaecological conditions to access primary as well as secondary health care remains significant. This is due to factors such as displacement, political insecurity and lack of capacity within the local health structures.
