The New Sexual Violence Legislation in the Congo: Dressing Indelible Scars on Human Dignity

Abstract

This article describes a legal thread running from the commission of massive sexual violence in the eastern provinces of the Congo since 1996 to the enactment of liberal legislation in 2006 to combat sexual violence throughout the country, especially in eastern Congo. In doing so, the article fills a gap in the nascent legal literature on systematic sexual violence. It finds that the new rape law is progressive, liberal, gender-neutral, and in keeping with international law. However, an unfortunate lapse in legislative drafting puts in doubt the authority of the courts to use the new rape law to prosecute systematic sexual violence. Despite this weakness, as well as harsh realities such as resource limitations and institutionalized corruption, the new sexual violence law, "the law of shameful acts," nonetheless provides a framework on the basis of which the state and rape survivors can prosecute perpetrators. It is a necessary step in upholding accountability and preparing for the more daunting task of healing communities affected by a devastating regional war.Resume: Cet article decrit le fil conducteur juridique reliant la perpetration de violences sexuelles massives dans les provinces de Test du Congo depuis 1996, la mise en vigueur de la legislation liberale en 2006, et la confrontation active des problemes de violence sexuelle au niveau national, et en particulier dans les provinces de Test. En offrant ce parcours chronologique, cet article comble un vide dans la litterature juridique naissante sur les problemes de violence sexuelle systematique. Cette recherche montre que la nouvelle loi sur le viol est progressiste, liberale, egalitaire, et similaire a la loi internationale. Cependant, des failles malheureuses dans la formulation de cette loi mettent en doute l'autorite des tribunaux dans son utilisation African Studies Review, Volume 55, Number 2 (September 2012), pp. 37-57 Dunia Prince Zongwe was born and raised in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and currently works in a commercial law firm in Montreal. He publishes in the areas of international human rights and finance and development, with a particular emphasis on Africa.

Pathways to care: IDPs seeking health support and justice for sexual and gender-based violence through social connections in Garowe and Kismayo, Somalia and South Kivu, DRC

“…Beyond the state and the proliferation of NGOs, in postcolonial settings, particularly in Africa, there are long histories of customary or parallel authorities and legal systems which share, contest, and negotiate legal authority ( Mamdani, 1996 ). In the DRC, while customary courts step into the state void and maintain significant authority in land tenure and other cases, they are legally prohibited from weighing in on instances of SGBV ( Baaz and Stern, 2010 , Zongwe, 2012 ). Despite this prohibition there are oft-cited instances of rape, which are mediated outside of courts between families or through chiefs of their respected ethnic groups.…”

“…When a woman is sexually assaulted, instead of taking it to court or punishing the perpetrator, a bride-price is negotiated. The victim is wedded to the perpetrator despite the DRC's national law specifying this as a crime that clearly violates the rights of the victim ( Baaz and Stern, 2010 , Zongwe, 2012 ). Similar processes are often followed when sexual assault is carried out in a domestic relationship.…”

Sexual violence and the healing process of the victims

“…They can relax as a result of the sport. Furthermore, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) play an important role in the healing process for survivors of sexual violence by providing assistance and full support from peers (Zongwe 2012, Edström & Dolan 2018, Clark 2019). Survivors of sexual violence must be fully assisted in restoring their condition, particularly psychologically, as well as receiving legal justice.…”