Gendering the Security Sector: Protecting Civilians Against Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo

International responses to the conflicts in the eastern Democratic Republicof Congo (DRC) bordering Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda have been widely criticized as inadequate. The region is poorly understood by the international community. The general international preference for working with states and institutions – in a region where none of these exists in the form familiar to the West – complicates responses significantly.

Of major concern is the parallel development of a UN-supported security sector of Congolese personnel who commit violations of human rights violations, making the Congolese army (FARDC) and police (PNC) the major perpetrator group of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). This report argues that, in order to deal with this problem, we must stop seeing sexual violence as solely a ‘gender issue that is usually met with scepticism or at best dealt with on an ad hoc basis. Instead, it should be included as a key issue of Protection of Civilians (PoC) and a major operational component in future work on Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) and Security Sector Reform (SSR). PoC is high on the MONUC mandate – but the correlation between intensified military operations supported by MONUC and the Congolese government and the increase in civilian sufferings such as displacement, rape and plunder is a matter of serious concern for any future protection initiatives.

Three interrelated protection areas must be addressed. One element is the physical protection of civilians, through defence forces limiting the attacks by rebel groups, but it is not sufficient for dealing with high levels of SGBV, especially when most of the reported crimes are committed by the Congolese army. The second area is the social protection of civilians. This involves a crucial and long-term approach to attitudes and internalization of people's legal rights, both civilians and uniformed personnel, against SGBV. Unless communities deal with SGBV by taking ownership of the problem, there will not be an end to the violence. Addressing also male roles in gender training is necessary so that gender does not become solely a women's issue, but is seen as a fundamental aspect of operationalizing protection. Thirdly, the legal protection of civilians implemented by the police and justice sector is a crucial component in discouraging future high levels of SGBV.