Violence in East Congo increases (25-02-2011)

With the world’s focus on the developments in the Arab world, and the Netherlands’ continued efforts for Afghanistan, a silent emergency is taking place in Eastern Congo for years now. The cameras do not record the alarming amount of women, children and men that get raped and killed in this latent conflict. In the past two weeks alone, over forty rape cases were reported.

Rape is often a means to disrupt entire communities and to rob the victims of their dignity. The number of cases continues to grow, and spreads like a pandemic across the country. The United Nations have designated East Congo as the ‘rape capital’ of the world.

In an attempt to stop this particular form of violence, HealthNet TPO currently redefines its operations in Eastern Congo. The focus will especially be on researching – and eventually preventing – sexual violence. HealthNet TPO puts this into practice within the MFSII programme (Dutch government funding), but also with trough funding of the World Bank and the United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women. Based on continuous research on the various forms and effects of sexual violence, our interventions are focused on the impact at the community-level, along with the impact on the individual.