Clinton Fights Rape in the Congo Posted by The Editors

This blog post was written by NSN intern Kate Aizpuru.

The New York Times reports that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton introduced a $17 million plan to fight the sexual violence that has been widespread in the Congo during its more than a decade of civil war.  Funds have been pledged to go towards training gynecologists, supplying rape victims with video cameras to document the violence, and training Congolese police to crack down on the rapists. Well done, Secretary Clinton; it’s about time.

It is well known that rape and other forms of sexual violence are a serious, widespread problem in the Congo. A 59-page report from Human Rights Watch describes how tens of thousands of Congolese women and girls have suffered from sexual violence in the past fifteen years, with over 15,000 new cases registered in 2008 alone. They write: “The medical, psychological and social impact of sexual violence is disastrous. Victims may suffer deadly injuries due to the rape, in particular when they are very young…victims are not only traumatized by sexual violence, but by also by the negative attitudes of their communities towards them.”

 According to an article on the UNICEF website, Congolese youth have begun to form youth groups, getting together to talk about the effects of widespread rape in their society: “The young people discuss issues such as HIV/AIDS openly and distribute pamphlets on ways to protect themselves from sexual assault. They try to bring the issues up at home with their parents and elders. But there is a feeling that the adults are not yet listening.”

Maybe some of the adults will begin listening now. I hope that some of the funds will be allotted for homegrown campaigns that have taken root in the Congo. Congolese rape victims have begun forming initiatives to raise awareness, provide assistance to victims, and stop perpetrators.  For example, the Congolese Women’s Campaign Against Sexual Violence was formed by women’s associations in Eastern Congo. One of the best ways the U.S. can help protect the rights of women and girls vulnerable to rape is by empowering their own communities. The U.S. can’t go into the Congo and make the army and rebel forces stop committing these atrocities, but we can provide support to grassroots efforts that understand the cultural landscape and may just be lacking resources. Kudos to Secretary Clinton for directing international attention to a problem that has gone ignored for too long. Here’s hoping her plan is executed effectively.

Comments

[DesertDiva]

MSM focused on Clinton's remarks regarding her husband, and not on the facts in this article.

Please help. Thank you for publishing

[joe jones]

Hillary needs to stay put and stop running the show...Let's face it, she didn't win.

[wazzamattaU]

What about female victims in her 'home' district?
Wasn't that Arkansas?
What about male victims? Why only Congolese females?
Where did this money come from?
Are the taxpayer's paying for American stuff?

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As far as I know Clinton has said she wanted corporations exploiting mineral wealth to understand that it was in their interests to help end the conflict....

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