*** EMBARGO UNTIL MONDAY 30 SEPTEMBER MORNING ***

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Constance Bayoli,

Health Promotion Activity Supervisor, MSF

Shabindu-Kashaka IDP Site, Goma

Democratic Republic of Congo

Usually, the perpetrators of rape and sexual violence are armed men.

In the Shabindu sites, many women live alone.

In North Kivu province,
more than 17,000 victims
were treated by MSF
between January and May 2024

In March 2024, MSF provided care to
an average of 100 survivors per day

And it should be noted that these women became displaced because of the war. Some live alone because they are widows. Others live alone because their husbands were enlisted in armed groups or forces. There are also women who live alone because when the war broke out, everyone went his own way, the husband there and the mother over there.

Nearly 600,000 displaced people
live in unsanitary camps
around Goma

Most of the displaced people fled the fighting
between the armed group M23,

the Congolese army, and their respective allies

They live in large families with an average of five children per household.

There are no schools and no income-generating activities in the camps.

As a result, women try to find firewood for cooking and also to sell.

Sexual violence and rape mainly occur in the fields or in the forest. Some cases even occur in [displaced persons] sites.

After the sexual assault, some women are afraid, while others are ashamed or stigmatised.

Many victims
do not dare to report their assault.

Data collected by MSF
represents only a fraction
of sexual violence in the region

MSF provides care to survivors of sexual violence. In particular, prevention against HIV transmission, STIs [sexually transmitted infections] and prevention of unintended pregnancy. The organisation also provides vaccinations against tetanus and hepatitis B, and also offers psychological care.



As there is no economic support and no opportunities to learn a trade, these women always return to their daily lives. They go to cultivate the fields and again, they are attacked and come-back [to us]. It really becomes a vicious cycle.

MSF calls for a rapid and substantial increase in humanitarian aid in the region

and for increased efforts to protect the population