In Congo women were beaten. Women were raped in front of their families and husbands. There were incidents of cutting and penetration of vaginas with knives and other objects. It resulted in families becoming traumatised for the rest of their lives. Many men became deeply affected because they were unable to protect their wives and daughters.
The objective of such massive rape was to destabilise opposition groups, she said. It was creating a public health crisis. Serious physical problems often resulted, including the spread of HIV-AIDS currently affecting about 60 per cent of the population, as well as other diseases; some young girls suffered from fistula conditions. A great many infections went unreported because people did not seek medical help, either because they could not afford it or were not able to reach it.
Caritas offers medical counselling. Additional information coming from the Congo indicates many children were being raised by mothers whose pregnancy resulted from being raped. There are worries that an extended cycle of abuse and violence would imbue younger generations with an accustomed sensibility, meaning that without intervention, the incidence of rape would continue to remain high.
But what Lulu Mitshabu had come to tell her audience about was rape - rape on a massive scale. She described how in the Congo tens of thousands of people had been systematically raped, with entire communities held hostage.
Rape was being used as a weapon of war to achieve the aims of the government and the military, she said. Women became vulnerable when they went to wells for water; girls were vulnerable going to and from school. The situation was so bad it had become more dangerous for those women than for a soldier on the front line. - Judy Cannon, Online Opinion (click below for full article)
http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=8655&page=0