Short film highlights sexual violence in Congo

Most reports from the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC, are pitch black, filled with descriptions of violence, abuse and death. But the Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation’s new short film shows another side of the story. Here we join a meeting between women rights activists and political decision-makers, were the women demand their right to participate in decisions concerning actions for victims of sexual violence.

Only five per cent of the international support to DRC to stop sexual violence is allocated to support the victims repatriation to everyday life. Many women therefore never gets a chance to process their traumas of being raped. Instead they are shamed and ostracised from the society.

Stop ostracism of victims
In the end of 2010 around 60 government officials and women rights activists met in Goma, DRC, to discuss ways of putting an end to the widely spread use of sexual violence against women. A subject that has been on the agenda for numerous meetings and seminars - with the violence still continuing. What made this meeting, arranged by Kvinna till Kvinna, special was the combination of the participants and the focus of the issue discussed: How can we prevent the ostracism and stigma that women who have been subjected to sexual violence meet when they return home?

For many of the participants this was a very important conference. Few women rights activists ever get a chance to meet the decision-makers of their country. The film shows how essential it is to listen to the experiences and knowledge of civil society, in order for sexual violence to stop and war to end.

New project on participation
- Our biggest challenge now is to help see to that there is a follow-up of the results of the meeting. In the beginning of 2012 we’ll meet some of the participants to discuss how they have been able to use these experiences so far. Together with the Brittish organisation International Alert, we also have a new project in DRC, focusing on strengthening women’s participation in politics and decision-making - one of the recommendations from the conference, says Ylwa Renström, coordinator for the DRC programme of Kvinna till Kvinna.

Anna Lithander