News
Combating the Rape Crisis in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the incidence of rape and other forms of violence against women is among the highest recorded anywhere in the world. Gender-based violence (GBV) is particularly acute in North and South Kivu provinces in war-torn eastern DRC. Assailants include armed militias who use rape as a weapon of war, as well as members of the national army and police. Increasingly, they also include civilians. The rape epidemic has claimed victims ranging in age from 3–75 years. Read more »
ABA ROLI Expands its Programming in the DRC
The Dutch government recently awarded the ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) a $5.2 million grant that will dramatically expand its work on combating gender-based violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Currently, ABA ROLI programming on gender-based violence in North Kivu Province is supported by a U.S. Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) grant, while the three-year Dutch grant will expand the program to Maniema Province. Read more »
New York Times Cites ABA ROLI’s Support of DRC’s Rape Survivors
The ABA Rule of Law Initiative’s (ABA ROLI) program in the Democratic Republic of Congo was mentioned in an October 17 New York Times article. The piece, which was posted on the homepage and was among the most e-mailed stories over several days, detailed the horrific rape crisis in DRC and the challenges in bringing perpetrators to justice. Read more »»
Podcast: Tackling Gender Based Violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Mathieu Ndongo-Koni, ABA ROLI’s Director for the Democratic Republic of Congo highlights the achievements of the legal aid and victim support program and the importance of ABA ROLI’s role in fighting gender-based violence in the DRC. Read more »»
Programs
Legal Education
The ABA will partner with NGOs, the Bar Association and the Judges’ Association to develop and implement a series of capacity building trainings for the police, prosecutors, judges and magistrates to promote more effective investigation, prosecution and adjudication of gender based violence and sexual violence cases.
The initial round of trainings will place the key actors in the judicial sector in dialogue with one another. To that end the police, prosecutors and judges will be trained together to 1) develop awareness around the collective and individual roles of each actor in law enforcement; 2) ensure that each of these crucial actors understands that they play a vital role in ensuring that the State fulfills its obligation to protect citizens from rape; and 3) openly expose the cultural and social biases that prevent full protection and recognition of rape and sexual violence as a crime punishable by law. NGOs will work with the Africa Division to provide case studies and to provide practical examples of the ills that turning a blind eye to gender based violence and sexual violence will have on law enforcement and the legitimacy of each of the institutions represented during the training.
The second series of trainings will be focused on each sector individually—to that end the police, prosecutors, and judges will trained in separate groups focusing on community police, judges and prosecutors at the first instance. These legal professionals play a significant role in overall law enforcement and will have the greatest contact with the community. the Africa Division will highlight issues of analyzing evidence (including forensic evidence) and effective interviewing techniques to engage victims of GBV and their families.
The ABA will combine trainings with the distribution of crucial materials, including bench books, and quick reference materials for the police, prosecutors and judges/magistrates. The training materials will be developed in a module format and will therefore be easy to update.
For further information on the ABA’s programs in the Democratic Republic of Congo, please contact Tatia Miller, at <millert@staff.abanet.org>.
Support for the Bar Association
The ABA is committed to sustainability and long-term institution building. To that end, the Africa Division always works to identify and develop partnerships with national organizations. In the instant proposal ABA-Africa understands the crucial need to broaden the pool of lawyers and legal professionals committed to enforcing criminal penalties in cases of gender based violence and sexual violence. The ABA will leverage and extend its long tradition of commitment to pro bono service in the DRC by working with the Bar Association of the DRC to promote public service and draw on ABA members to provide pro bono commentary and review of training materials. In promoting pro bono service with the Bar Association in the DRC, the ABA fully recognizes that the concepts of pro bono service must be cast in the context and framework of the DRC to be effective. To that end, the Africa Division will assist the Bar Association in providing appropriate administrative and management support to interested members of the legal fraternity to ensure that pro bono cases are treated with the highest level of professionalism and that the costs of transportation, filing fees etc. are not incurred by the individual pro bono lawyers.
Legal Aid and Victim Support
The ABA will establish a free legal aid clinic in eastern Congo, close to or in a hospital that is already well-known for receiving and treating victims of rape. In this way victims will have immediate recourse to trauma support, appropriate medical examinations to satisfy requirements for criminal allegations of rape, and information about legal remedies for rape survivors committed to pursuing criminal redress against their attackers.
The legal aid clinic will identify a national legal aid attorney to provide free legal representation to the victims of rape. This attorney will work with an investigator also housed within the legal aid clinic to ensure that the investigation and case files are prepared with the highest standards. The legal aid attorney will be a seasoned legal professional experienced in working with victims of gender based violence and able to effectively engage victims while explaining the legal process and criminal penalties that may be applicable to the victim’s case.
Victims of gender based and sexual violence will also have access to trauma services through a trauma counselor. The trauma counselor will work within the context of recognized legal procedures to attempt to shield the victim from being re-traumatized. The trauma counselor will also explain to the victim and their families every aspect of the case and address issues of social stigma and the shame that is often associated with being a victim of rape. Trauma counselors will further provide referrals to other support services provided by the international community and national NGOs.
Mathieu Ndongo-KoniCountry Director
Villa106, Avenue du Rond Point, Quartier les Volcans.
Goma, North Kivu Province.
Democratic Republic of Congo.
Background
The Africa Division of the ABA Rule of Law Initiative is currently opening an office in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This project, funded by U.S. Agency for International Development, will be conducting legal aid and access to Justice programs with the purpose of combating gender based crimes and sexual violence.
Access to justice in the DRC is extremely limited, with rampant corruption and an overworked Judiciary. In order to counteract these problems, the Rule of Law Initiative will be running a legal aid center and conducting relevant training for members of the legal community. Addressing the problem of sexual violence is particularly pressing in the DRC, where the law openly treats women as second class citizens, and sexual crimes are commonplace. The ABA will also be providing support and justice to victims of these attacks while seeking reform of the DRC's laws on sexual crimes and gender rights.
