Congo (Kinshasa)

Rape and conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are in the news. Like the daily global toll of avoidable death and illness, wars which do not obviously involve Americans, Europeans or Israelis usually struggle to be noticed. However, the DRC media coverage has not been universally welcome.

‘My family and I were all sleeping when the soldiers arrived. They tied my husband's hands behind his back and then they took turns raping me. Afterward … they killed him. I spent three weeks in the forest until one night I was able to escape. When I arrived home, I discovered that my little child was dead.'

— Panzi Hospital patient, Democratic Republic of Congo

Congo called Wednesday for the U.N. peacekeeping force in the central African nation to be gradually withdrawn "without delay," saying the security situation has been stabilized in nearly all parts of the country.

More than 1,100 women are raped every day in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), making sexual violence against women 26 times more common than previously thought, a study concluded Tuesday.

Although the civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo ended in 2002, the war on women and girls continues. "Sexual and gender based violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, or DRC," wrote U.S.

More than 400 000 women are raped in the Democratic Republic of Congo every year, according to a study by US researchers published last Wednesday, but the United Nations (UN) has expressed doubt over the findings.

The official spearheading United Nations efforts to combat the scourge of sexual violence committed during war has welcomed today's start of a trial in Germany of two Rwandans accused of ordering massacres and mass rape in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Women are critical to peace building and conflict resolution. While war affects everyone, women are especially affected.

We recently traveled together to Congo, where the deadliest war in the world is occurring. During the trip, Ryan made this video, "Raise Hope for Congo."

Soldiers have committed acts of sexual violence in the north-east Democratic Republic of Congo, a UN humanitarian group said Wednesday, reporting dozens of cases.

"A total of 57 cases of sexual violence have been reported since the beginning of the year in the area of Kungu," the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement.