Silenced Every Half-Hour: The Weaponization of Sexual Violence in Congo
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, women and children live under a terror the world has learned to ignore. Every thirty minutes, a woman or child is raped. Not as an accident of war. Not as collateral damage. But as a deliberate weapon.
Armed groups in North Kivu and beyond are using sexual violence to fracture communities, spread fear, and destroy futures. From January to February 2025 alone, nearly 10,000 cases of sexual assault were reported. Between 35–45% of the victims were children, some as young as 12. UNICEF documented one mother whose six daughters were raped while searching for food. This is not rare—it is the rhythm of daily life in a conflict that has normalized atrocity.
Numbers Too Big to Ignore
22,000 survivors came forward in 2023 in just one province, North Kivu.
By mid-2024, another 17,000 cases were recorded.
Médecins Sans Frontières treated more than 25,000 survivors in 2023 alone, averaging two new cases every hour.
Behind these figures are lives shattered—girls pulled from their schools, mothers left without medical care, boys forced to witness unspeakable crimes against their sisters.
A Failing System
The cruelty does not end with the assault. Survivors are met with a collapsing support system: only three practicing gynecologists serve North Kivu’s population of 800,000. Rape shelters are underfunded and running out of critical medicines. UNICEF warns that even HIV-prevention drugs are dangerously low.
The message is clear: survivors are abandoned twice—once by the men who violated them, and again by a world that refuses to act.
Impunity and Silence
Nobel laureate Dr. Denis Mukwege, who has spent his life treating survivors at Panzi Hospital, has warned that impunity ensures this nightmare continues: “Without justice, nothing will change.” Yet perpetrators still roam free, while global leaders turn their gaze elsewhere.
Wake Up
The war in Congo is not just a local conflict. It is a test of our shared humanity. Sexual violence as a weapon of war is one of the gravest crimes against humanity—and it is happening now, as you read this.
We cannot afford to scroll past. We cannot normalize silence. The women and children of Congo are not background noise—they are the frontline of a war on dignity itself.
What You Can Do
Raise awareness: Share survivor stories. Speak about Congo in your networks.
Support trusted organizations: Donate to groups providing medical, legal, and psychological support (Panzi Foundation, UNICEF, Médecins Sans Frontières).
Demand accountability: Call on your leaders to fund survivor care and push for justice against perpetrators of war crimes.
Every half-hour, another voice is silenced. Let this be the moment we finally listen.
