
An 18-year old female was abducted from her village. Her captors tied a rope around her neck, and tied her to a tree. Once a day for four months she was untied from her tree, only to be gang raped for several hours.
The photo above shows a young girl being treated after she had been abducted from her home and raped repeatedly. After raping her, her attackers mutilated her body by chopping off both of her hands.
These stories may be horrific, but they are common occurrences in the African Congo. The United Nations reported in 2006 that in one province in South Africa alone there were over 27,000 sexual assaults and these are just the ones that were reported. There is little to no respect for women in these areas. Even post-rape victims receive a second victimization from their justice system or their community. Because of the nature of the assault and cultural views of women as inferior objects a rape victim is often considered a disgrace by her family and community. And because of the high number of assaults, if she seeks to report the offense she is not often given the medical treatment, physical and psychological, that she may desperately need. The justice system often chooses not to punish or prosecute an offender which has led offenders to believe that rape is an act that 1) Isn’t considered to be a serious issue, at least not one worthy of being prosecuted for, and 2) They can get away with it. One can imagine how disheartening it must be to be taken against your will and brutally raped, only to return to your community and safe-haven where you are expecting help and getting these reactions instead. It is no wonder why so many women choose not to report their assaults.
These stories may be horrific, but they are common occurrences in the African Congo. The United Nations reported in 2006 that in one province in South Africa alone there were over 27,000 sexual assaults and these are just the ones that were reported. There is little to no respect for women in these areas. Even post-rape victims receive a second victimization from their justice system or their community. Because of the nature of the assault and cultural views of women as inferior objects a rape victim is often considered a disgrace by her family and community. And because of the high number of assaults, if she seeks to report the offense she is not often given the medical treatment, physical and psychological, that she may desperately need. The justice system often chooses not to punish or prosecute an offender which has led offenders to believe that rape is an act that 1) Isn’t considered to be a serious issue, at least not one worthy of being prosecuted for, and 2) They can get away with it. One can imagine how disheartening it must be to be taken against your will and brutally raped, only to return to your community and safe-haven where you are expecting help and getting these reactions instead. It is no wonder why so many women choose not to report their assaults.
The United Nations has attempted to help eradicate this problem by introducing peacekeepers to the area. They have initiated night flashes where troops shine the headlights of their vehicles all night so the civilians and potential aggressors are aware of their presence. Often they will wake to find their trucks surrounded by hundreds of sleeping village people. The peacekeepers are there to help protect the women of the village, but how is this supposed to be affective in the long run? Peacekeeping does not fix the social problem that has led to the sexual abuse of women in the area. There must be a strong effort by the African government and United Nations to solve the social issue associated with these crimes. Until then we should not be surprised to see the number of rapes in the African Congo rise exponentially.
This blog you posted on Monday is nothing but completely shocking to me. Of course we hear how women are treated in Africa, but never thought to this exstent. Call me naive, but never thought it was this serious. I dont understand how a young girl who has not even reached the age of 10 can be raped by grown men. And then you talk about peace keepers, but the truth of the matter is i feel they probably dont do much to help. Its a few against hundreds of sex offender there in the congo. Good POST!
ReplyDeleteThis is another very interesting post. The idea that rape has become accepted by African society completely baffles me. This heinous crime is happening to sisters, daughters, and mothers and yet their society does not view this as serious crime. I agree with you that Peacekeeping is not a long term solution to this problem. This only fights a symptom and a cure for the disease may only come from solving the social issues plaguing this society.
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