By Shingo Ogawa | Project Leader
It is said that DR Congo is the worst place for women in the world. This is because sexual violence has been strategically used as a "weapon" to destroy communities in order to terrorize and control the population in the conflict.
It is a horrific assault to even imagine, with children as young as five years old being raped, assaulted in front of their families, and their genitals mutilated.
The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) reports that even in 2020, there were 1,053 cases of sexual violence in the entire DRC. Women and girls account for almost all of this (1,045 cases).
In addition, most cases of sexual violence go unreported. One of the reason is that victims of sexual violence fear social stigma. Not only are they physically hurt by sexual violence, but their human dignity is also damaged.
In 2018, during the escalating conflict, at least 2,600 victims of sexual violence were reported in the city of Kananga, Central Kasai, where Terra Renaissance is based.
Furthermore, the crisis in the region has intensified in recent years, although the number of internally displaced persons and refugees in the Kasai region has been decreasing. This was triggered by the influx of approximately 102,000 Congolese refugees into the region between 2019 and 2020, who were displaced by the Angolan government.
In April 2020, there are two inter-community crises. The first is the conflict between the Kuba and Kete tribes in Mweka, Kasai Province. The second, in Dimbelenge, Central Kasai, was a conflict between the Bakwa Kanyinga and Bakwa Ndaye communities.
Relations between the different communities deteriorated rapidly, leading to violence. Violence between the communities, rooted in land disputes and the control of the forests that border the neighboring groups, has led to murders, rapes, the burning of houses, and the destruction of fields.
As a result, there is widespread distrust among these communities. Fearing attacks, community members have stopped using the forests, resulting in reduced incomes for most households, who now face great socioeconomic vulnerability and poverty.
Terra Renaissance works in Central Kasai Province, where this is the situation, to support the self-reliance of women who have suffered sexual violence and are in a vulnerable situation since 2018. We have also provided vocational training for former child soldiers.
The physical and mental trauma caused by the conflict is too deep to be described in words. However, we have seen them gradually regain their lives and their families' backs and restore their smiles through our support.
DR Congo is still far away from peace. But we will get there. With this confidence, Terra Renaissance will continue to provide support together with the beneficiaries.
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By Mai Yoshida | Director and Chief of Advocacy Team
By Mai Yoshida | Director and Chief of Advocacy Team
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