A senior UN official has said that the Democratic Republic of Congo is “the rape capital of the world.” The UN’s representative on sexual violence in conflict Margot Wallstrom encourages the Security Council to punish the perpetrators. With impunity being the rule rather than the exception, rape has remained a dominant feature on the continuous conflict in eastern DR Congo. During the fight in 2009, more than 8,000 women were raped. According to Wallstrom, if women continue to suffer sexual violence, it is not because the law is inadequate to protect them, but because it is inadequately enforced. Women have no rights, if those who violate their rights go unpunished. The UN mission in DR Congo has been trying to handle the problem by escorting women on their way to market, developing early warning systems and working with local officials. A research on sexual violence in DR Congo’s eastern South Kivu province was conducted in April and it produced shocking findings. The report done by the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative reflects that about 60% of rape victims in South Kivu were gang raped by armed men. More than half of the assault took place in the victim’s residence and an increasing number of attacks were being carried out by civilians. United Nation Official Calls Democratic Republic of Congo “Rape Capital Of The World” is a post from: Daily World Buzz Continue reading →
