Mai-Mai militia and sexual violence in Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Abstract

This article sets the reasons for the brutal violence against women. It focuses on three field sites providing insight into Mai-Mai motivations and their attitudes toward sexual violence. According to most sources, 5.5 million people have died since the beginning of the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 1994, and rape is used as a weapon of destruction. More than 15,000 rapes were reported in the DRC in the last year--accounts of these rapes include descriptions of horrific acts, such as mutilation and the killing of unborn children. The sexual violence is so severe in the DRC that some have described rape in the country as the worst in the world. Sexual violence has long lasting consequences and far-reaching impacts on individual survivors, their families, and their communities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.