According to the New York Times last week, a study released in The American Journal of Public Health reports that the rate of rape in Democratic Republic of Congo is in the millions. The incidences extend to areas beyond what is considered to be the center of the violence there. Earlier this month, there were reports about the rate of sexual assault on young female Peace Corps volunteers in remote areas of the world. There are many parts of the developing world that continue to be unsafe especially for women who live there and women who are there trying to help. Women who are attacked in the Congo often have no recourse or support after they are attacked, and rape often goes unreported making exact numbers difficult to pinpoint. The director of the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative goes so far as to say the prevalence of rape during the war in DRC has “defined this conflict as a war against women.” More studies need to be done to attract public attention to the widespread gender-based violence in the developing world. This requires more worldwide attention to women’s rights around the world. Women and children are often least protected through the process of development (which is often violent) and they are left vulnerable to these terrible acts of brutality.
The articles I refer to can be found here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/12/world/africa/12congo.html?ref=hillaryrodhamclinton
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/11/us/11corps.html?scp=1&sq=peace%20corps%20rape&st=cse
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