wfn.org | WCC FEATURE: Churches support victims of rape in the Democratic Republic of Congo

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World Council of Churches - Feature

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>For immediate release - 27/07/2009 16:03:49

CHURCHES SUPPORT VICTIMS OF RAPE IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF

>CONGO

>By Fredrick Nzwili (*)

Free high resolution photos available, see below

There is much hope in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
that the guns will soon fall silent. But the trail of human
rights abuses the combatants leave behind compels the churches to
intervene.

For the civilians it may not matter on which frontline they find
themselves, says Dismas Kyanza, the Church of Christ in Congo
(ECC) emergency officer for North Kivu, since all armed groups
are committing atrocities.

"There are the local armed groups, international armies,
national armed groups and foreign armies. The national army which
is supposed to protect the civilians is also guilty," Kyanza told
an international delegation that visited eastern DRC from 8 to 15
July on behalf of the World Council of Churches (WCC). The trip
was part of the Living Letters (
http://www.overcomingviolence.org/en/iepc/living-letters-visits.html
)series of visits through which small ecumenical teams visit
churches in countries in conflict to listen, learn and show
solidarity.

Those needing help are victims of torture, rape, abductions and
displacement or even murder, the church officials in the DRC say.
The churches have been helping them move beyond their traumatic
situations, in some cases providing material, financial and
medical support. They also offer some technical training in
tailoring or weaving as means for long term support. 

When rape as a "weapon of war" came into the picture, it
prompted church protests and immediate responses.

"We saw the first case of a woman who had been raped and her
organs mutilated in 1999. We had never seen anything like this
before. Other cases started coming in soon after," explains
Bishop Jean-Luc Kuye Ndondo, the South Kivu president of the
Church of Christ in Congo (ECC). 

Within 10 years, there have been over 500,000 such cases,
according to Dr Denis Mukwege, the founder of Panzi Hospital in
Bukavu, which specializes in treating women and girls who have
become victims of sexual violence.

The perpetrators of these crimes seek to cause as much physical
and emotional harm as possible, explains Mukwege, judging by the
injuries he has seen and the reports of how they were inflicted
on the victims.

"I think they want to destroy the communities," says Mukwege.
"They rape in the presence of family members and the village
communities."

"In Shabunda, armed men raped a pastor's wife in front of her
husband and church members. They then turned on the pastor and
molested him in front of the congregation. That was the end of
that congregation," adds the doctor.

>Stigmatized victims

Many rape cases remain unreported due to stigma, according to
ECC officials. Those who commit the abuses know that the women
cannot submit to genital examinations afterwards. 

Since 2003, the ECC has assisted 23,000 traumatized women
through its Centre for Medical and Psycho-Social Assistance
(CAMPS).

"The women arrive at the centre needing psychosocial, medical
and material support," explains CAMPS national coordinator Justin
Kabanga. "Some have arrived pregnant after rape ordeals. Others
have gone to the centre having conceived babies after rape. Many
of them have tested positive for HIV." 

Kabanga says CAMPS starts by helping the women understand what
happened to them, discussing the consequences of their situations
and helping them re-establish relationships. It reaches out to
spouses, families and communities, urging acceptance of the women
and raising awareness that the victims are not responsible for
their situation.

"The children of rape are also rejected. We make the community
understand they are not responsible and they will not be a danger
in future," says Kabanga. "Our main objective is to try to repair
the damage done by war."

Although CAMPS has been attempting to ensure those women who
speak out get some justice from the authorities, all too often
these efforts remain without success. 

"We have been sensitizing soldiers against raping women,"
explains Kyanza. "We also ask women to speak out. Sometimes
people dare to speak out, and when they do, the responsible
soldiers are arrested to face military justice. Unfortunately
women don't usually come out." 

"The trip was one of those life unsettling experiences. It was
the kind of experience that is a challenge to all who go through
it, or hear of it, to do something about the new found
information," says Elenora Giddings Ivory, the WCC programme
director for Public Witness. She was part of the Living Letters
delegation that travelled to eastern DRC.

"It is almost incomprehensible what one of God's children can do
to another of God's children, when it comes to the brutalization
of women. The word rape does not go far enough to depict the
actions in east Congo," Giddings Ivory says.

Monica Njoroge, who represented the Fellowship of Councils and
Churches in the Great Lakes Region and Horn of Africa (FECCLAHA)
on the delegation, says it is very clear that people in the
country want peace.

"Observing the suffering of the thousands of Congolese living in
camps, listening to the plight of women and children during
conflict, and listening to the struggles of service providers,
the work is cut out for the Ecumenical family," she says.

Glancing at the mountainous horizons from Bukavu or Goma, the
provincial capitals of South and North Kivu respectively, nothing
betrays the hidden trail of pain that runs through these hills. 

But some, like Françoise Bisobere from the northeastern province
of Ituri, have hope in spite of the sufferings.

"In the Ituri war, I lost two children and a leg. While in
hospital, my husband abandoned me. I was helped by the church,"
she says. "I would like to help those who are hurt. I encourage
them to take courage." 

>[913 words]

(*) Fredrick Nzwiliis a freelance journalist based in Nairobi,
Kenya. He is a correspondent for Ecumenical News International
(ENI).

Free high resolution photo of Dr Denis Mukwege (please credit ©
Fredrick Nzwili/WCC):
http://www.overcomingviolence.org/fileadmin/dov/images/living_letters/drc/DSC_0094.JPG

Free high resolution photo of Françoise Bisobere (please credit ©
Fredrick Nzwili/WCC):
http://www.overcomingviolence.org/fileadmin/dov/images/living_letters/drc/DSC_0556.JPG

More stories and photos from the Living Letters visit to the
DRC:
http://www.overcomingviolence.org/en/iepc/living-letters-visits/democratic-republic-of-congo.html

WCC member churches in the DRC:

http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/regions/africa/democratic-republic-of-congo.html

>###
>SIDE BAR

DRC rape victims' doctor says church must be conscience of
world

Dr Denis Mukwege's daily work is to treat victims of sexual
violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where armed
groups are using rape as a weapon of war.

At Panzi Hospital in Bukavu town he has successfully treated
more than 21,000, sometimes doing more than ten surgeries a day.
Many women have struggled to reach here after being gang-raped.
Some have arrived at the hospital in very bad shape – naked,
bleeding and leaking urine. But the doctor's help has given them
a new lease on life.

Meet 54-year-old Dr Denis Mukwege, a gynaecologist, the founder
of Panzi Hospital. The son of a Pentecostal pastor has said he
studied medicine to heal the sick people his father assisted
through prayer. The first patients he met were the sick members
of his father's congregation.

On 19 July, a World Council of Churches (WCC) delegation to
eastern DRC met Mukwege at the hospital, where, apart from
treating women, he also trains nurses, obstetricians and doctors
in collaboration with international experts.

"I feel bad when I see children, the same age as mine, who have
been raped, and [their bodies] have been destroyed, their rectum
and sex organs mutilated. This has been done by men who just want
to destroy. This affects me as a person," says Mukwege, a father
of five children.

He told the delegation that HIV infections and other illnesses
were on the rise, complicating life for poor people who cannot
afford health care. 

"When you look at it, and you can see there is no end, you have
seen it for more than 10 years, when you have talked to those who
can stop it, and you hear them talk about other issues, it
hurts," he adds.

Mukwege wants the church to speak out strongly on behalf of the
victims of violence.

"It is nearly ten years since the world started coming here.
They see, they cry. They promise to do something, they go and
they forget. That’s the world," says Mukwege. "When the world
keeps quiet, the church cannot afford to. The church is supposed
to be different. If it makes noise, at the end the world would
listen." 

In 2008, the doctor won three awards, the Swedish Olof Palme
Prize, the African of the Year award and the UN Human Rights
Prize.

Opinions expressed in WCC Features do not necessarily reflect
WCC policy. This material may be reprinted freely, providing
credit is given to the author. 

Additional information:Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507
6363 media@wcc-coe.org

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