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Women’s Bodies as a Battleground

Sexual Violence Against Women and Girls in the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Kivu (1996-2003)

Authored by: Marie Claire Omanyondo Ohambe, Jean Berckmans Bahananga Muhigwa, and Barnabé Mulyumba Wa Mamba

Categories: Human Rights, Humanitarian Emergencies, Violent Conflict
Sub-Categories: National Security Forces and Armed Groups, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV), Sexual and Reproductive Health
Country: Democratic Republic of Congo
Region: Sub-Saharan Africa
Year: 2005
Citation: Ohambe, Marie Claire Omanyondo, Jean Berckmans Bahananga Muhigwa, and Barnabé Mulyumba Wa Mamba. Women's Bodies as a Battleground: Sexual Violence Against Women and Girls in the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Kivu (1996-2003). Réseau des Femmes pour un Développement Associatif, Réseau des Femmes pour la Défense des Droits et la Paix, and International Alert, 2003.

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Executive Summary

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.