The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Edited News | UNHCR , UNITED NATIONS , UNOG
DRC - Rising Violence Against Women And Girls - UNHCR
DRC: Spike of gender-based violence due to increased armed conflict, warns UNHCR
Resurgent violence between non-state armed groups and government forces across North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has displaced 2.8 million people since March 2022, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, warned on Friday.
Many of those uprooted have suffered severe human rights violation, especially forcibly displaced women and girls who have endured rape and sexual exploitation, UNHCR said.
“10,000 people who have been able to access gender-based violence services in North Kivu in the first quarter of this year, 66 per cent of them have been raped”, said Gillian Triggs, UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, briefing journalists at the United Nations in Geneva. “This is a very significant number and many of those gender-based violations are reportedly perpetrated by men of these armed groups.”
This data was shared from the DRC Government by an inter-agency protection coordination network which operates as part of the Protection Cluster under UNHCR’s lead.
The UN refugee agency, however, beliefs that this reflects only the tip of the iceberg. Many survivors may be unable to reach life-saving gender-based violence (GBV) services or report abuse, out of fear of stigmatization by their communities or retaliation by perpetrators. Access to the displaced also remains a significant challenge both in terms of security and logistics.
“The displaced community within the country is something staggering, it’s about 6.3 million, but it’s also shocking that 2.8 million have been displaced in the provinces that I mentioned: North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri since March last year,” said UNHCR’s Ms. Triggs.
As access to resources diminishes, dangers and risks spike, and women and girls are being driven to take greater risks to meet critical needs. Reports have been received of women and girls being sexually assaulted when collecting firewood and water.
According to Ms. Triggs, “this is probably one of the most neglected and severe humanitarian protection crises we have globally. It has sadly been left aside. It’s perhaps been protracted, and we are now calling at the UN Refugee agency for much greater attention to the severity of this protection crisis.”
Food insecurity and the lack of livelihood opportunities have also increased risks of exploitation and abuse of women and adolescent girls. Some women are being forced to resort to harmful coping mechanisms, including transactional sex in the spontaneous settlements around Goma, the capital of North Kivu.
“Women are not able to feed their families, they are not able to get livelihoods. And sadly, they are at risk of exploitation and abuse and ultimately resort to harmful coping mechanisms, transactional sex, in these spontaneous settlements,” said Ms. Triggs.
UNHCR and humanitarian actors are working to help mitigate and respond to these mounting risks. They provide humanitarian assistance, psychosocial care and shelter support and cooperate with local women-led organizations, which have been at the forefront of the crisis.
UNHCR reported that they have reached more than 9,000 people with GBV prevention and response interventions since the beginning of the year.
“We are calling on governments, we spoke to local mayors, we spoke to local governments, understanding of course, that for them it’s a security problem, they have to deal with the security but they’re very alert to this rise, massive rise, in brothels as a means of coping”, noted UNHCR’s Assistant High Commissioner for Protection. “But we also, of course, call for those responsible for these violations to be held to account.”
In total, more than 6.3 million people are internally displaced across the DRC exposed to staggering violence and making it one of the largest internal displacement crises worldwide. To date, UNHCR has received only 33 per cent of the $233 million required to address their urgent needs.
-ends-
- Exterior medium shot: UN Palais with flags
- Wide shot: speakers and moderator behind panel, attendees, photographer at the press conference
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Gillian Triggs, UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Protection: “10’000 people who have been able to access gender-based violence services in North Kivu in the first quarter of this year. 66 per cent of them have been raped. This is a very significant number and many of those GBV violations are reportedly perpetrated by men of these armed groups.”
- Medium shot: speaker behind panel, photographer at the press conference
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Gillian Triggs, UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Protection: “The displaced community within the country is something staggering, it’s about 6.3 million, but it’s also shocking that 2.8 million have been displaced in the provinces that I mentioned: North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri since March last year.”
- Close shot: photographer at the press conference
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Gillian Triggs, UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Protection: “This is probably one of the most neglected and severe humanitarian protection crises we have globally. It has sadly been left aside. It’s perhaps been protracted, and we are now calling at the UN Refugee agency for much greater attention to the severity of this protection crisis.”
- Close shot: speaker at the press conference
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Gillian Triggs, UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Protection: “Women are not able to feed their families, they are not able to get livelihoods. And sadly, they are at risk of exploitation and abuse and ultimately resort to harmful coping mechanisms, transactional sex, in these spontaneous settlements.”
- Close shot: attendees and moderator at the press conference
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Gillian Triggs, UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Protection: “We are calling on governments, we spoke to local mayors, we spoke to local governments, understanding of course, that for them it’s a security problem, they have to deal with the security but they’re very alert to this rise, massive rise, in brothels as a means of coping. But we also, of course, call for those responsible for these violations to be held to account.”
- Medium shot: moderator and camerawoman at the press conference
- Medium shot: speaker behind panel at the press conference
- Close shot: attendees taking notes at the press conference
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
Gaza: One million receive food parcels as humanitarians race to ‘push back hunger’
Food is slowly returning to the shelves in Gaza amid “apocalyptic scenes” but supplies are still desperately inadequate, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday, as they issued fresh calls for wider access and continued financial support.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Seif Magango today told the bi-weekly UN press briefing in Geneva of more details that are emerging on the atrocities committed in El Fasher, in Sudan during and after its takeover by the Rapid Support Forces.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Seif Magango made the following comment on Friday at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani made the following comment on Friday at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , WHO
Sudan: UN Raises Alarm Over Mass Atrocities in El Fasher as Survivors Report Executions, Killings and Rapes
More details continue to emerge about atrocities committed during and after the fall of El Fasher to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan on 23 October. Since the powerful paramilitary group made a major incursion into the city last week, the UN Human Rights Office has received “horrendous accounts of summary executions, mass killings, rapes, attacks against humanitarian workers, looting, abductions and forced displacement,” said Seif Magango, spokesperson for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA
Ukraine: Russian attacks on energy terrorize population as winter starts; could trigger major ‘crisis within crisis’
The UN’s top aid official in Ukraine expressed concern on Friday about “continuous attacks” on energy production sites and distribution facilities.
1
1
1
Edited News | HRC
Navi Pillay Retires After Decades Defending Human Rights and Pursuing Justice
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The telecommunications shutdowns in Afghanistan in September had serious and far-reaching impacts on people’s lives, according to a briefing paper published today by the UN Human Rights Office and the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Jeremy Laurence at the UN Geneva press briefing made the following comment on the ASEAN declaration on the right to a healthy environment.
1
1
1
Edited News | IFRC , OCHA , WMO
‘Catastrophic’ Hurricane Melissa hours from landfall in Jamaica as humanitarians rush to save lives
Millions in Jamaica and across the Caribbean are bracing for massive impact from Hurricane Melissa on Tuesday as the UN and partners are warning of a “severe” and “immediate” humanitarian threat.
1
1
Edited News | WHO
‘We need all routes to open’: in Gaza WHO calls for ramp-up of medevacs, easier access for essentials
Two weeks since a ceasefire agreement entered into force in Gaza the World Health Organization (WHO) noted progress on the flow of aid while calling for more evacuations of critical patients and eased entry for essential medicines and supplies.
1
12
1
1
Edited News | WMO , UNITED NATIONS
UN chief urges boost to life-saving weather warning systems, stresses role of climate change science
No country is safe from the devastating impacts of extreme weather — and saving lives means making early-warning systems accessible to all, UN chief António Guterres said on Wednesday.