The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has called for an urgent and significant scale-up of interventions and funding to respond to the escalating number of cases of sexual violence reported against children and women in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, DR Congo). Gender-based violence (GBV) against girls and women in North Kivu province increased by 37 percent during the first three months of 2023 compared to the same period a year ago, UNICEF said on Thursday.
According to the GBV coordination group in the province, more than 38,000 cases of gender-based violence were reported for all of 2022 in North Kivu alone. In most cases, survivors reported being attacked by armed men and displaced men in and around the camps.
“Deeply vulnerable children and women, seeking refuge at camps are instead finding themselves facing more abuse and pain,” said UNICEF DRC Representative Grant Leaity.
“The surge in sexual violence against children is horrifying, with reports of some as young as 3 years old having been sexually exploited. This wake-up call should shock, sicken, and jolt us all into action.”
Since the beginning of March 2022, nearly 1.2 million people have been displaced by clashes between the Congolese army, Mouvement du 23 mars (M23) rebel group, and the many other armed groups in North Kivu. Almost 60 percent of those displaced - over 600,000 people - are living in overcrowded sites and collective shelters on the outskirts of Goma, the provincial capital, where risks of sexual violence are extremely high.
UNICEF says there are also very high levels of sexual exploitation of children at more than 1,000 sites in and around displacement camps.
According to the UN agency, the impact on the physical and mental health of girls and women is immeasurable and long-lasting. Approximately 1 in 4 survivors of sexual violence are in need of specialized medical and psychological support.
UNICEF has stepped up its activities to prevent and respond. The agency has been providing essential medical and psychosocial services to affected girls and women at the four largest displacement camps near Goma.
In collaboration with its partners, the UN children agency has also established safe spaces for girls and women within displacement camps, where psychologists, professional social workers and trained community-based para-social workers identify and care for children and women in need, referring them for additional services as required.
To protect girls and women, UNICEF is urgently calling for a significant scale-up of services to prevent and respond to sexual violence in and around displacement camps; a halt to the large-scale sexual exploitation of girls and women; and the dismantling of the identified sites in and around camps where sexual exploitation occurs.
Last week, the international humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders, MSF) reported that in just two weeks more than 670 victims of sexual violence have been treated by MSF teams in camps for displaced people around Goma. This represents 48 new victims per day.
MSF said the shocking figures reflect the extreme vulnerability and risk of violence faced by displaced people in the area. Nearly 60 percent of the victims were attacked less than 72 hours before coming to MSF clinics, illustrating the urgency of the situation.
Gender-Based Violence (GBV) – also Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) - is a form of violence that is directed against individuals on the basis of their gender or perceived gender. GBV can include a wide range of acts, such as physical, sexual, or psychological violence.
Gender-Based Violence is often perpetrated against girls and women, but can also affect boys and men, as well as those who identify as non-binary or gender non-conforming. GBV is particularly acute during humanitarian crises, such as natural disasters, conflicts, and displacement, where people are at increased risk of experiencing violence and exploitation.
Eastern DRC is home to multiple armed groups, including the rebel M23 force, Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels, the CODECO armed group and Zaire militants. A dramatic resurgence of clashes between the M23 and the Armed Forces of the DR Congo began in March 2022. The humanitarian situation in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo drastically deteriorated due to the escalation of the conflict in the North Kivu province.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is facing one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world, and the situation in the country is one of the most neglected displacement crises globally. For decades, the country has endured multiple, overlapping emergencies driven mainly by conflict and forced displacement. The UN estimates that 26.4 million require humanitarian assistance in the country this year.
The DRC already suffers the largest internal displacement crisis in Africa due to the ongoing violence. 7.5 million people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have been forced to flee their homes. Among them are 6.2 internally displaced person (IDPs) and 1.3 million refugees, that have sought safety in neighboring countries.
Further infomation
Full text: UNICEF calls for urgent action to respond to alarming levels of increasing sexual violence against girls and women in eastern DRC, press release, published May 18, 2023
https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/unicef-calls-urgent-action-respond-alarming-levels-increasing-sexual-violence-0
Full text: Alarming numbers of sexual violence victims in camps around Goma, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), press release, published May 8, 2023
https://www.msf.org/drc-alarming-numbers-sexual-violence-victims-camps-around-goma