The aim of the study is to contribute to an understanding of sexual violence in South Kivu. The study looks at the socio-economic, political and military context of South Kivu, also showing how the violence is perceived from a socio-cultural standpoint. It examines the extent of the violence, the forms that it takes and its perpetrators as well as identifying the survival strategies deployed by victims and their communities. It also describes not only the physical and psychological consequences for victims of rape and sexual violence but also the social consequences of these acts. This is followed by an examination of the motives for these violent acts both as perceived by the victims themselves, and also on the basis of the statements made by those few perpetrators who agreed to talk about them.