Conflict-related sexual violence escalating

Conflict-related sexual violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has escalated while support to survivors has significantly dropped, Human Rights Watch and the Congolese women’s rights organisation Sofepadi said today. Human Rights Watch has documented sexual violence by members of at least five non-state armed groups and the Congolese army in eastern Congo. Expanded fighting in Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu provinces as well as funding cuts and limited access to health services, have made it increasingly difficult for women and girls who survive sexual violence to get the holistic support they need. Many clinics offering health care and other support have been forced to close. ‘Armed groups and military forces are using sexual violence as a weapon of war across eastern Congo,’ said Ida Sawyer, crisis and conflict director at Human Rights Watch. ‘Survivors of these horrific crimes experience a climate of impunity that protects those responsible and a healthcare system that has been deprived of the means to support them.’ Sexual violence by military personnel and members of armed groups has occurred in a range of circumstances: attacks targeting particular ethnic groups during assaults on towns and villages; hostage taking and abductions for sexual slavery; and rape on farms and other workplaces or while women and girls are in transit.