Children in Goma, DR Congo. DRC: UNICEF records sharp spike in sexual violence against children Peace and security
The number of rapes recorded by health workers at 42 health facilities in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo increased fivefold in just one week in late January. Of those treated, 30 percent were children, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement Thursday.
The true figures, the head of the UN Children’s Fund notes, are likely much higher, since many survivors do not want to come forward. UNICEF partners on the ground are running out of drugs used to reduce the risk of contracting HIV after sexual violence.
“We are receiving horrifying reports from North and South Kivu provinces of serious violations against children, including rape and other forms of sexual violence. The scale of what is happening exceeds anything we have seen in recent years,” the UNICEF chief said in a statement. “One mother told our staff that her six daughters, the youngest of whom was just 12 years old, were systematically raped by armed men who had wandered into their village in search of food.”
Children and their families in eastern DRC are living under constant bombing and gunfire, according to UNICEF. Thousands of children in displacement camps have been forced to move multiple times in recent months to escape the fighting.
“In the current chaos, hundreds of children have been separated from their families, putting them at increased risk of abduction, recruitment into armed groups and sexual violence,” Catherine Russell said in a statement. “More than 1,100 unaccompanied children have been identified in North Kivu and South Kivu in the past two weeks alone, and the number continues to rise.”
The head of the UN children’s fund noted that even before the current crisis, child recruitment into armed groups was widespread in the region. Now, as parties to the conflict seek to bolster their ranks, the pace of recruitment has accelerated even further, with reports of children as young as 12 being recruited or forced to join armed groups.
“Parties to the conflict must immediately cease and prevent further grave violations against children,” said Catherine Russell. “They must also take concrete measures to protect civilians and infrastructure critical to children’s survival, in line with their obligations under international humanitarian law.”