Amnesty international: MASS RAPES IN WALIKALE STILL A NEED FOR A PROTECTION AND JUSTICE IN EASTERN REGION CONGO

MASS RAPES STILL IN NEED FOR A PROTECTION AND JUSTICE
HARROWING CONSEQUENCES: PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL HARM
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The mass rapes, mostly gang-rapes, left the Walikale survivors with physical injuries and psychological damage that require sometimes long-term and complex treatment. Very few survivors received immediate care following the attack: the under-resourced and understaffed local health centres were rapidly overwhelmed and the two hospitals lacked appropriate drugs, supplies and trained personnel.

During the attack, the hospitals and health-centres
were pillaged by the armed groups. The NGOs Heal Africa and International Medical Corps and coordinated their response to
provide medicine and psycho-social care to the survivors. However, humanitarian NGOs faced challenges in delivering health care and medicines to survivors in time as the transport infrastructure in the Walikale territory is in a state of decay and it proved to be extremely difficult to bring in medical equipment by road or air. Hardly any of the rape survivors had access to Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) which offers protection against HIV/AIDS if taken within 72 hours.

Many victims chose not to seek any treatment for fear of rejection by their families or abandonment by their husbands. The trauma suffered by the women Walikale survivors seems to be aggravated by their fear of rejection, of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS, and of unwanted pregnancy.

Many women rape survivors typically suffer uterine prolapse, vesico-vaginal or recto-vaginal fistulas and other injuries to the reproductive system, accompanied by internal bleeding. The treatment and surgical reconstruction take a long time and involve costly operations.

However, after many years of conflict, the health care infrastructure is severely underresourced and unable to offer even basic treatment. International medical and humanitarian
NGOs in North Kivu, who run their own health care programmes, also support state facilities to enable them to provide at least a minimum service. For the survivors of sexual violence,
the near impossibility of receiving decent medical treatment for the illnesses or injuries brought on by rape represents yet a further violation of their rights. Restoring the healthcare infrastructure and responding to the health needs of rape survivors and of the civilian population of the country needs to become a priority.

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