Survivors of Sexual Violence In DR Congo In Need of Care

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has warned of the lack of support available for survivors of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In a new report, the organisation said that given the magnitude of such violence and its impact, there is a need for Congolese authorities and their partners to swiftly act, in order to respond to the huge medical, legal, socio-economic, and protection needs.

Data collected by MSF in 2020, showed a worrying picture of the physical and psychological state of patients treated for sexual violence. These included infections, unwanted pregnancies, physical injuries resulting from the violence, severe psychological trauma, including among minors who represented one fifth of patients treated.

In 2020, nearly 11,000 survivors of sexual violence were assisted with the support of MSF teams in six of the 26 provinces. The report said this survivor figure is just the tip of the iceberg.