DRC: Congo Report Shows Rape is Widespread

Armed groups, including the army and Congolese and Rwandan militias, have raped tens of thousands of women in Congo. But the report, Now, the World is Without Me, said about 56% of sexual assaults were committed by armed men in homes in the presence of the victim's families, including their children. About 16% reported were in fields, and 15% in forests. Incidents of sexual slavery were reported by 12% of women surveyed, with some held hostage for years.

The number of rapes increased during military operations. More than 9,000 people, including men and boys, were raped in 2009 as the government and its Rwandan military allies moved against Rwandan militia groups operating on Congolese soil.

The report was commissioned by Oxfam and carried out by Harvard University experts. More than 4,000 rape victims were interviewed from 2004 to 2008 at Panzi hospital in the eastern Congo city of Bukavu.

Oxfam said the findings of the survey were alarming. "Rape of this scale and brutality is scandalous," said Krista Riddley, director of Oxfam's humanitarian policy. "This is a wake-up call at a time when plans are being discussed for UN peacekeepers to leave the country. The situation is not secure if a woman can't even sleep safely in her own bed at night."

Susan Bartels, chief researcher from the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, said the research confirmed what had been reported anecdotally. "Sexual violence has become more normal in civilian life," she said. "The scale of rape over Congo's years of war has made this crime seem more acceptable."

In war-hit South Kivu, women are subjected to sexual violence regardless of age, marital status or ethnicity, the report found. More than 5,000 people were raped there last year, according to the UN. The region is home to 5 million people, but only one hospital offers suitable treatment to rape victims.

Violence broke out in Congo after the 1994 Rwandan genocide spilled across the border. UN peacekeepers have been deployed since 1999 to help bring stability, but thousands of people are raped each year and sporadic fighting has continued.

President Joseph Kabila has asked the UN to draw up a schedule to withdraw its 20,000 peacekeeping mission by 2011, but some senior diplomats and UN officials have said that they are reluctant to do so.

Oxfam says it is vital that UN peacekeepers stay, given the security situation. But studies have found that when even UN-backed offensives are carried out, women become more vulnerable.

A UN security council delegation is due to arrive in Congo this week.