School of Health Sciences (HESAV), University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Institute of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
Afr J Reprod Health. 2022 Apr;26(4):42-56. doi: 10.29063/ajrh2022/v26i4.5.
For almost three decades, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has experienced cycles of armed conflict, particularly in the east. During these conflicts, systematic rape has been used as a weapon of war to break women and communities. Knowledge produced about this phenomenon to date relates to the epidemiology, aetiology and the consequences of these rapes, particularly on survivors in care institutions, thus ignoring the impact this phenomenon has on the communities. Our survey aims to investigate the extent to which women from the Orientale, North Kivu and South Kivu provinces have experienced rape, as well as their perceptions regarding its frequency, characteristics, and repercussions for/on victims in their communities. From a sample of 1483 women, more than 99% had directly or indirectly experienced rape, on at least five occasions in three-quarters of cases. In their experience, a large proportion of the rapes took place at the victims' homes in the presence of family members and were perpetrated by members of military or paramilitary groups. Frequent health problems (several possibilities) reported include: bleeding (40.8%), pain (23.9%); unwanted pregnancies/abortions (23.4%), urogenital problems including STD (12.0%). Concerning mental health, they reported fear and anxiety (56.3%), depression and suicidal thoughts (16.8 %), insomnia (5.3%); 94.7% reported feelings of humiliation and shame and 6.9% social exclusion and stigmatization. Support for victims comes largely from NGOs (47.6%), families (27.1%) and Churches (14.3%). This is a major cultural, economic, political, human rights, and public health problem, which the authorities and international community must commit to tackling.
近三十年来，刚果民主共和国（DRC）经历了多次武装冲突，尤其是在东部地区。在这些冲突中，系统的强奸被用作战争武器，旨在摧毁妇女和社区。迄今为止，关于这一现象产生的知识涉及流行病学、病因学以及这些强奸行为对护理机构中幸存者的后果，从而忽略了这一现象对社区的影响。我们的调查旨在调查东方省、北基伍省和南基伍省的妇女遭受强奸的程度，以及她们对强奸的频率、特征及其对社区中受害者的影响的看法。在 1483 名妇女的样本中，超过 99%的人直接或间接经历过强奸，其中四分之三的人至少经历过五次强奸。在她们的经历中，很大一部分强奸案发生在受害者家中，在场的有家庭成员，犯罪者是军人或准军事组织成员。她们经常报告出现健康问题（多种可能性），包括：出血（40.8%）、疼痛（23.9%）；意外怀孕/流产（23.4%）、泌尿生殖系统问题包括性病（12.0%）。在心理健康方面，她们报告说感到恐惧和焦虑（56.3%）、抑郁和自杀念头（16.8%）、失眠（5.3%）；94.7%的人感到羞辱和羞耻，6.9%的人感到社会排斥和污名化。对受害者的支持主要来自非政府组织（47.6%）、家庭（27.1%）和教会（14.3%）。这是一个重大的文化、经济、政治、人权和公共卫生问题，当局和国际社会必须承诺解决这一问题。
