In this episode of MSF Pulse we look at a critical humanitarian emergency in in Kasai Central region of Democratic Republic of Congo where our teams have treated more than 2,000 survivors of sexual violence.

Learn more: https://www.doctorswithoutborders.ca/...

Script: Since May of last year, we've been responding to a critical humanitarian emergency in the Republic of Congo, where our teams have treated more than 2,000 survivors of sexual violence in Kasai Central region.

[A critical humanitarian emergency in the Greater Kasai area, Democratic Republic of Congo]

Eighty percent of those we’ve treated told us they were raped by armed men.

[80% were raped by armed men]

Testimonies from these patients are shocking and underscore the brutal levels of violence faced by women, men and children in the Kasai area.

Hundreds of people told us that at least one family member was killed or that their homes had been pillaged or destroyed.

While most patients receiving treatment are women, some of the survivors’ testimonies were also from men.

Some men shared the traumatizing account of being forced to rape older women in their own communities at gunpoint.

And a disturbing number of the survivors are children, including very young children under the age of five.

[Many of the survivors are children under the age of 5]

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Many survivors could not reach medical clinics until weeks after the horrific attacks against their communities.

You see, immediate care for survivors of sexual violence, especially in cases of rape, is medically urgent, to prevent diseases and receive mental health counselling.

But because of the conflict, it is extremely difficult for survivors in Kasai region to even begin to find help.

We’re doing what we can to reach the most vulnerable people.

From mobile clinics to field visits, our teams are seeking out those who otherwise have no access to the help they urgently need.

It is important to take action.

So please follow the link in the description to learn more about this ongoing crisis and witness these survivors’ courageous stories.


Keywords: DRC, sexual violence, rape survivors, murder, gunpoint rape, children, care for sexual violence survivors, waiting room, difficult access to care