Sexual Assault Plagues Women Displaced by DR Congo’s M23 Conflict

Lack of food is forcing displaced women in Congo to settle away from camps as they search for work and other supplies. This move has exposed the women to predatory men according to women displaced by the conflict.

A woman who lives in a camp in Masisi territory, North Kivu province said a landowner raped her after she stole bananas in March. She said,

“We don’t receive assistance, so we are obliged to go to the field. “If they catch us there, they rape us.”

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The M23 rebels have been fighting the Congolese army since 2021. The fighting has affected women and girls. There have been several rape reports by armed groups especially M23 fighters in areas outside the camps. In areas where the M23 and other militias are active, gender-based violence has recorded a  37% increase during the first three months of 2023 as compared to the same period in the previous year.

According to the UN’s emergency aid coordination body, OCHA, international protection programmes like trauma counselling and other services provided to rape survivors report a financial gap of about 70% for 2023.

Lack of support has placed a heavy burden on protection officers to cater for survivors of sexual violence. These volunteers who are often on call carry out their activities without funding from NGOs.