Photo: BBC
When will the rapes end? This is a question that is being asked, not only in the Congo, but across the globe. However while the DRC remains one of the worst countries in the world for is exuberant use of rape as a weapon of war, it is not alone in this destructive act that not only destroys the bodies of women and girls, but serves to ultimately brake down civil society.
Giorgio Trombatore, a director of the aid group International Medical Corps, said investigators working in eastern Congo’s North Kivu Province had so far “counted 242 cases individually, one by one.” (NY Times)
With over 240 cases, the numbers most likely growing, reported from the July raids around the village of Luvungi and some 500 since July in the Kivu region, all eyes are on the UN as the transparency of their knowledge of the July 30th raids, fades and questions mount.
ZAINA NYANGOMA, rape survivor (through translator): They would beat us for a long time. After they raped us, they would walk out and we would do our best to escape into the bush. Sometimes we would have to crawl on the ground while they would rape others until dawn. They would also sometimes follow us into the forest, aware of where we were hiding at night. And if we were found, they would then rape us again. And that’s how they managed to rape all the women of Luvungi. (PBS)
Previously the UN has described the Congo as “the rape capital of the world”, after more than 8000 women were reported as raped during the countries conflict in 2009 alone and at least 200,000 cases since 1996. As the conflict continues with no end in sight women and girls find themselves re-victimized, often over numerous attacks, reopening both mental and physical wounds.
According to a release by World Vision yesterday;
The risk of future mass rape in the Democratic Republic of Congo can be greatly reduced if the United Nations prioritizes civilian protection and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) writes strict regulations governing the use of conflict minerals (World Vision/Reuters).
Increased protection, awareness, regulation of minerals, and the ending of impunity for such crimes on all levels are all necessary in order to see an end to the Congo’s longstanding suffering. However attention must also be given to attending the long-term effects of rape, on both victim and perpetrator, which are essential to seeing an end to this viscous historical cycle.
The use of rape in the Congo conflict affects not only the victim, but places all Congolese women and girls in fear of sexual violence, allowing fear to dominate their daily lives. This continual fear leaves victims in constant torment and mental anguish, which causes increased long-term psychological stress and damage. Many physiologists believe the fear alone can cause PTSD.
The violence and brutality of the use of rape as weapon of war does not begin or end with the rape itself, victims are most often beaten, and in many cases physically mutilated. Little has been done to evaluate and treat the effects of rape in times of combat on the perpetrator, many only young boys , some who are forced, or coerced, to rape by their commanding officers. What are the physiological effects of the use of rape in warfare to the rapist and how does this affect the social structure and community thereafter? Rapists often come back to their communities after having committed such atrocities.
Regardless of how the situation with UN peacekeepers is resolved, the continuance of conflict in the country and high level of impunity for those perpetrators who use rape. The continuance of the use of rape in the countries long conflict is quickly becoming more than just a weapon of war, but a societal norm, as the reports increased numbers of civilian rapes begins to give increased light to. The ripple effect that it has, and impact the entire community and country are potentially enormous.
Rape as a Weapon of War and it’s Long-term Effects on Victims and Society. The paper looks at the following key questions: Does rape as a tool of war leave a country with less chance of a solid and stable political future? What are the long term effects on the society as a whole? What are the ongoing effects of stigmatizing, victims, including a look into the effects of marriages among victims. This also entails looking at the inequality and gender discrimination women face in times of war, including social exclusion, and how this symbolic form of violence affects that marginalization in the future and in times of peace. The paper concludes with recommendations on for more in depth analysis and studies on primary and secondary victims, as well as the rapist.
For more information please see my previous post on the use of rape as a weapon of war here.
