STORY: Sexual violence victims in DR Congo in need of help, protection
DATELINE: Oct. 4, 2023
LENGTH: 00:03:33
LOCATION: GOMA, DR Congo
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of shelter camps in Goma, DRC
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Swahili): JUSTINE MBURANO, Sexual violence victim
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (French): RASMAN KABORE, Doctors Without Borders coordinator in Goma
4. SOUNDBITE 3 (French): DESANGE MAYENGA, Head of gender issue within FDAPID

STORYLINE:

Refuge-seeking women in shelters on the outskirts of Goma, a city in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are under the shadow of gender-based violence (GBV), as many victims said that they are having a hard time recovering from GBV-related trauma.
   
Since the beginning of 2023, more than one and a half million people have been forcibly displaced in the provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri, the three conflict-plagued provinces, bringing the total number of displaced persons in the country to more than 5.8 million. Women represent 51 percent of the displaced population. 

The displaced live in overcrowded shelters, where risks of sexual violence are extremely high.
   
SOUNDBITE 1 (Swahili): JUSTINE MBURANO, Sexual violence victim"The day we went to the Nyakagina forest to find firewood, I was raped. When we arrived, four armed men raped us around 10 a.m. They had four guns and 4 machetes. They started to ask us why we came to the bush, and we said that we came to get firewood and we were displaced."

Gender-based violence is rampant in the country, with more than 31,000 cases registered in the first three months of 2023 alone.  
Victims often seek help from humanitarian organizations. However, Rasman Kabore, a staff member with Doctors Without Borders, said the help they could offer is limited.

SOUNDBITE 2 (French): RASMAN KABORE, Doctors Without Borders coordinator in Goma"We offer care for the patients with psycho-social support. Since we have more female patients than male, the care is holistic. As Doctors Without Borders, we are more based on medical care with psycho-social support. However, we lack other aspects of treatment, such as protection, social care and reintegration, because there are few actors who intervene in this area. Doctors Without Borders alone would not be able to do everything. These actors in other areas also lack funding to improve the condition of these patients."  
Desange Mayenga in charge of gender issue within the Development Center for the Self-Promotion of Indigent and Distressed People (FDAPID), a local human rights organization, called for more support for the vulnerable group. 
SOUNDBITE 3 (French): DESANGE MAYENGA, Head of gender issue within FDAPID"If women find themselves exposed (to danger), it is mainly because of poverty. We must allocate sufficient funds for the empowerment of women. Apart from that, there is also the judicial system which must be strengthened. In the DRC, justice is chaotic. When there are perpetrators who are not punished, the situation would be worse."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Goma, DR Congo.
(XHTV)