DRC: In Goma, women face domestic violence and rape in the camps

In eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, displaced women fleeing war are often victims of sexual violence in camps around Goma. According to Ocha, the number of cases of sexual violence in eastern DRC has skyrocketed. Local women’s rights organizations are calling for perpetrators to be punished.

DRC: Women in Goma face domestic violence and rape in camps

In eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, displaced women fleeing war are often victims of sexual violence in camps around Goma. According to Ocha, the number of cases of sexual violence in eastern DRC has skyrocketed. Local women’s rights organizations are calling for perpetrators to be punished.

The Rusayo IDP camp is home to tens of thousands of people displaced by war, on the outskirts of Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.  Photo taken on October 2, 2023.

The Rusayo IDP camp is home to tens of thousands of people displaced by the war, on the outskirts of Goma, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

During the first three quarters of 2024, North Kivu recorded 68% of the 52,700 cases recorded. At the Rusayo IDP camp west of the city, which is home to more than 150,000 displaced people, these women live in despair. They are left to fend for themselves. The displaced people live in tattered tents, underlines our correspondent in Goma, Héritier Baraka. Here, many women are attacked in the surrounding fields, parks or even within the camp grounds.

Dressed in black and with her feet in the mud, Rebecca, a 30-year-old woman, was raped by an armed man: "When we go to get firewood, each of us goes her own way.  There, I went, I had a problem, I met a soldier I didn't know. He asked me to choose between killing me and raping me. While trying to escape, he injured me with a knife in his hand."

Mwiza was raped while she was going to get firewood. For fear of reprisals, she still hesitates to denounce her tormentor. "When I came back, I didn't know what to do. I'm waiting for someone to help me with medication, for someone to advise me, because he may have transmitted diseases to me or I may be pregnant."

For Maitre Liliane Moseka, a member of the dynamic of women lawyers, an organization that supports victims, we must put an end to impunity: "We have women who are raped and abused more than once, sometimes in less than a week. There are several actors who are cited as elements in uniform.  And these cases remain unpunished."

Between January and May 2024, Médecins Sans Frontières claims to have treated more than 17,000 victims of sexual violence in the province of North Kivu.