A destroyed shelter in Congo in May, 2024. Aid groups say survivors of sexual violence in the country aren't getting the medical care they need.AUBIN MUKONI/Getty Images
Congolese rape survivors, including girls who have walked for days in search of help, are increasingly unable to get treatment because of severe cuts to foreign-aid funding, humanitarian agencies say.
Sexual violence in eastern Congo has surged this year, largely because of fighting led by the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel militia, but humanitarian groups say they are often unable to provide crucial help to the survivors.
Reported cases of sexual violence increased by 38 per cent in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the first four months of this year, compared with the same period last year, and more than 90 per cent of cases were in eastern Congo, United Nations agencies say.
Because of stigma and a reluctance to report, the true number of cases is believed to be much higher than the 67,000 cases of gender-based violence that were officially reported, the UN says.
International funding for humanitarian groups, including United Nations agencies, has suffered deep cuts this year as donors reduce their support. The cuts were led by the Trump administration in the United States, which abruptly shut down its biggest aid agency, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and eliminated billions of dollars in aid for Africa.
Many health centres across Congo have run out of post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) kits because of the funding cuts this year. These kits are considered vital for treatment, including the prevention of HIV infection, but rape victims must gain access to them within 72 hours – an increasingly difficult task.
Relief workers in Congo described the case of a 14-year-old girl who was sexually assaulted while fleeing her war-torn village. “She walked two days to a health centre only to be met with empty shelves – no PEP kits,” said Célestine Nabahavu, an adviser on women’s programs at CARE, an international aid agency.
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“Her pain and terror were immense,” Ms. Nabahavu said in a report released by CARE on Monday.
The girl kept searching and eventually found a health centre with a kit available in its dwindling supplies, but many other women are turned away without any treatment, the group said. “On top of physical pain, they face depression, anxiety, isolation, and rejection,” Ms. Nabahavu said.
Because of the funding cuts, the entire supply chain for PEP kits in Congo has collapsed, CARE said.
Similar reports have emerged from other agencies, including UNICEF, the UN agency for children. In one hospital in eastern Congo in early April, there were 127 rape survivors who had no access to PEP kits, according to UNICEF spokesperson James Elder.
“That is a direct consequence of rapid funding cuts,” he told journalists at a briefing. “These girls and women are enduring the most unimaginable horrors, and they are no longer getting even the basic medical care they need.”
Fewer than 60 per cent of documented victims of sexual violence in Congo have received proper treatment within the critical 72-hour time frame, the UN says.
Much of the increase in sexual violence was reported in January and February, when the M23 militia was pushing across eastern Congo and capturing major cities such as Goma and Bukavu. In the week after the rebels captured Goma, clinics reported 572 rape cases, including 170 children – a sharp increase from 95 weekly cases last year.
Rwanda-backed rebels in Congo are harder to stop this time as much of the world grapples with other conflicts.
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During the most intense phase of this year’s conflict in eastern DRC, a child was raped every half an hour, UNICEF said. “We are seeing survivors as young as toddlers,” Mr. Elder said. “It is a weapon of war and a deliberate tactic of terror. And it destroys families and communities.”
A study by Congolese and Canadian researchers, based on interviews with displaced women in makeshift camps around Goma last December, found that an overwhelming 97 per cent had directly experienced or witnessed sexual violence or gender-based violence. In many cases, sexual assaults were among the reasons for their decision to abandon their homes and flee into temporary camps.
Even after fleeing, many women were targeted for sexual violence in the camps, including in their tents and in sanitation facilities, but they were also attacked when they left the camps to seek essential supplies because of the shortage of humanitarian aid, the study found.
“Women have no choice but to leave the camp to seek firewood, forage for food, or attempt to earn money to support their children,” the study said. “This puts them at serious risk of rape by armed groups and civilians living in the areas surrounding the camps. The near absence of protective forces around the camps increased these risks.”
More than 70 per cent of the women said their displacement was caused by the M23 military offensive, while a further 5 per cent said their displacement was caused by Rwandan soldiers who have supported the rebels.
The study was written by York University professor Annie Bunting, Dalhousie University professor Heather Tasker, and a Congolese women’s rights group, Solidarité Féminine Pour La Paix et le Développement Intégral.