Decade of Rape in the Congo Unparalleled and Unpunished
Laura Carpenter
Issue date: 5/1/08 Section: Editorial & Opinion
Have you ever thought about
why one person rapes another?
Most experts assert the primary
cause of rape as an aggressive
desire to dominate
the victim, rather than attempt
to achieve sexual fulfillment.
Rape, an act of violence and
control, uses sex as a weapon.
Rape isn't motivated by sexual
desire, but by the desire to
overpower and dominate the
victim. The rapist treats the
victim as an object rather than
a human being. Often rape is
used as a way to control people,
especially during a war.
Rape is dehumanizing.
Today, in the war-torn Democratic
Republic of Congo
(DRC), rape takes place in an
amount almost unbelievable to
the human ear. In the last ten
years, hundreds of thousands
of women and girls have been
raped - but their suffering goes
unacknowledged. Instead, they
are invisible.
Since 1998, a brutal war
has been raging in the DRC.
More than four million people
have died and uncountable
casualties have occurred. The
women and girls have been
kidnapped, raped, mutilated
and tortured by soldiers from
both foreign militias and the
Congolese army.
The rapes seem to stem from
a hatred for women and a desire
to control. When a woman
is raped in front of her husband
and children or in some cases
her children are forced to rape
her, when a woman is not just
raped but then her genitals are
attacked with a gun, a torch,
a stick or whatever is nearby,
this is beyond human understanding.
The violent civil war in the
DRC originated with the aftermath
of the Rwandan genocide
and the resulting destabilization
of the surrounding
area. More than ten times the
number killed in Darfur and
Sudan makes this the most destructive
war in recent African
history. Despite a new government
and the signing of peace
treaties, the violence and security
problems remain, particularly
in Eastern DRC.
why one person rapes another?
Most experts assert the primary
cause of rape as an aggressive
desire to dominate
the victim, rather than attempt
to achieve sexual fulfillment.
Rape, an act of violence and
control, uses sex as a weapon.
Rape isn't motivated by sexual
desire, but by the desire to
overpower and dominate the
victim. The rapist treats the
victim as an object rather than
a human being. Often rape is
used as a way to control people,
especially during a war.
Rape is dehumanizing.
Today, in the war-torn Democratic
Republic of Congo
(DRC), rape takes place in an
amount almost unbelievable to
the human ear. In the last ten
years, hundreds of thousands
of women and girls have been
raped - but their suffering goes
unacknowledged. Instead, they
are invisible.
Since 1998, a brutal war
has been raging in the DRC.
More than four million people
have died and uncountable
casualties have occurred. The
women and girls have been
kidnapped, raped, mutilated
and tortured by soldiers from
both foreign militias and the
Congolese army.
The rapes seem to stem from
a hatred for women and a desire
to control. When a woman
is raped in front of her husband
and children or in some cases
her children are forced to rape
her, when a woman is not just
raped but then her genitals are
attacked with a gun, a torch,
a stick or whatever is nearby,
this is beyond human understanding.
The violent civil war in the
DRC originated with the aftermath
of the Rwandan genocide
and the resulting destabilization
of the surrounding
area. More than ten times the
number killed in Darfur and
Sudan makes this the most destructive
war in recent African
history. Despite a new government
and the signing of peace
treaties, the violence and security
problems remain, particularly
in Eastern DRC.
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