“Sexual terrorism” in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

by Melissa Kemp

“Raise Hope for Congo” is the name of the Enough Project’s campaign to protect and empower women and girls in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Those who attended an April 7 “Raise Hope for Congo” panel discussion at the School for International and Public Affairs gained a better understanding of just why the region so desperately needs hope.

The most prominent — and chilling — topic of the evening was the use of rape and other forms of sexual violence as tools of war. Anneke Van Woudenberg, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch, began the discussion with the sobering fact that over 200,000 Congolese women have been raped since 1998, many in excess of seven times. She added that because of widespread impunity, the incidence of rape is increasing.

Lisa Jackson, Emmy Award-winning director of the film The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo, provided evidence of this increase in what she referred to as “sexual terrorism.” She gave shocking, graphic descriptions of the nature of attacks that female participants in the film had survived, emphasizing that every story was “singular in its horror.” Jackson assured attendees that these women, who exhibited such strength and dignity and not an ounce of self-pity, were proud to be part of the film and derived hope from the fact that it would be viewed all over the world. Dr. Roger Luhiri, a physician formerly at Panzi Hospital in eastern DRC, followed Jackson with his own account of interactions with female victims. He referred to Panzi, a facility that specializes in treating victims of sexual violence in the region, as a “refugee camp for women and girls” where physicians and counselors work to restore dignity and humanity.

Also present were Major General Patrick Cammaert and John Prendergast. Cammaert, who served as General Commanding Officer of UN Peacekeeping Operations for the Eastern Division in the DRC, spoke about the importance of preparing troops to deal with the reality of the use of sexual violence as a war tactic. He was critical of the lack of training troops had received regarding such violence, and of their resulting inaction, which he believes led to distrust of troops by local populations and compromised success. John Prendergast, cofounder of the Enough Project, introduced the organization’s latest campaign to end the trade in conflict minerals mined in the DRC. Prendergast argued that “we need to get at the core” of the problem in the DRC by pressuring Congress and leading electronics corporations to put an end to the conflict mineral trade much like the campaign to end the trade of blood diamonds a decade ago. That, he asserted, would be the first step to ending the gross victimization of women and girls in this ongoing war.

At the reception following the event, photographs taken by SIPA students who have traveled to the DRC were auctioned to raise funds for Panzi Hospital.

Published in RightsNews Volume 28, no. 2, April, 2010.
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