Democratic Republic of the Congo

Preventing Sexual & Gender-Based Violence

Since 1998, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has suffered appalling atrocities and trauma. War and other violence-related causes have resulted in an estimated five million deaths. More than 200,000 women and girls have been raped. Deplorably, the Congolese Army and armed militias have been the prime perpetrators. Faced with repeated denunciations by humanitarian and human rights groups, the Army has often reacted with denial and defensiveness, and it has tried to insulate itself from the criticism. In such an atmosphere, we recognized the opportunity to create a different kind of relationship, and in 2006 we made a decision to work with the Congolese Army to help transform it into a force whose main task is to protect - not harm - civilians.

To this end, we formed a partnership with the Congolese Army to implement a series of activities whose aim is to reduce and eliminate the occurrence of sexual violence. Each activity is designed to reinforce the others and to be part of a holistic initiative that helps create an environment in which impunity ends and in which violence against women ceases to be prevalent.

Key projects include:

• SFCG DRC has launched a poster campaign to prevent rape and sexual violence. The campaign communicates core messages about sexual violence prevention. The campaign aims to remove stigma associated with sexual violence, emphasize its severity, and show that real and serious consequences exist for those who decide to commit sexual violence against women. Click here to read more about the campaign.

• The Vrai Djo campaign engages men as positive actors in the in the fight against sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Asking, "Est-il un vrai djo?" (Is he a real man?), the campaign promotes positive male role models. Click here to read more about Vrai Djo.

Other projects include:

We have established 36 Civilian Protection Committees at Army Headquarters and inside brigades and battalions in five of the country's most troubled provinces. Altogether, we reach 25% of the Congolese military with training programs that use interactive tools to change the abusive behavior of soldiers. Programs include sensitization sessions for soldiers that involve participatory theater and dialogue. To date, there have been 50,000 participants. Please see this two-minute video clip of these activities, narrated by Kathleen Turner.

We have reached 600,000 Congolese soldiers and civilians with mobile cinema screenings at which we show films that communicate the need to prevent sexual violence. The films are followed by discussions led by trained military and civilian facilitators.

We have produced a 13-part, dramatic TV series ("soap opera for social change") about a girls' soccer team, which communicates anti-rape messages.

We have produced a 26-episode, reality TV series that reaches millions of viewers and stresses the idea that individuals can make a difference in curbing abuses.

We have established a network of 85 community and national radio stations that broadcast military-oriented soap opera and news magazine programming that we produce.

We sponsor solidarity activities involving joint military-civilian good works, such as sporting events, clean-ups, repairs, and joint harvesting projects

We have published and distributed 200,000 comic books that portray model behavior of soldiers and the consequences of criminal acts.

In 2011, we facilitated a peace agreement between two warring tribes in Equateur Province that that had resulted in scores of people killed and that caused about 100,000 people to become refugees.

Results

In 2010, evaluators measured the results achieved with the DRC's 8th Brigade, which had been part of our process for two years and which had been redeployed six months earlier to South Kivu province – an area with a very high incidence of military misbehavior. They found that 92% of the local population sampled said that this unit was better in protecting civilians than the previous brigade. Another survey showed that 89% of the population believed that due to our joint military-civilian activities, there was a marked decrease in forced labor, theft, illegal arrest, extortion, and rape. Here are some quotes from respondents about the 8th Brigade:

• "If President Kabila wants peace, he should leave these military deployed here in Bunyakiri. We are no longer afraid when we see the military uniform."

• "If these military leave our area, we will follow them. Then we know we'll be safe."

• "Before, the civilians used to be able to manipulate the Military Police to do bad things. But now, they are disciplined and don't allow themselves to be used."

For a full, 40-page evaluation of the project, please click here.