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Study: Civilian rape skyrockets in Congo's east
The number of rapes carried out by civilians in eastern Congo has increased by 17-fold in the last few years, according to a study released Thursday that says sexual assaults long perpetrated by armed groups are spreading across the population.
The study, commissioned by the British aid group Oxfam, was carried out by experts from Harvard University and examined more than 4,000 cases from 2004 to 2008 at the Panzi Hospital in the eastern Congo city of Bukavu.
Armed groups–including the army and Congolese and Rwandan militias–have raped tens of thousands of women in the war-ravaged nation, and are still feared by the population. But the research found that 38 percent of rapes were committed by civilians in 2008, compared to less than 1 percent in 2004.
"This study confirms what has only been reported anecdotally until now: Sexual violence has become more normal in civilian life," said Susan Bartels, chief researcher from the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative. "The scale of rape over Congo's years of war has made this crime seem more acceptable."