UNFPA statement on sexual violence perpetrated against women and girls in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo

Women and girls are experiencing staggering rates of gender-based violence, including conflict-related sexual violence, in the latest outbreak of fighting that has engulfed the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Nearly 500 reported cases of sexual violence were reported within a single week in the Goma area, including more than 150 involving children. This number likely represents only a fraction of the actual survivors, those who managed to reach care,  with many more unable to due to services being cut off, fear of retaliation from perpetrators, or stigma in their communities.

Since the beginning of the year, over 400,000 people–predominantly women and children–have been displaced in North and South Kivu, exacerbating their vulnerability to exploitation and violence. In the absence of protection services, women and girls face an increased risk of attacks, including rape, forced recruitment and sexual slavery by armed gangs who are operating with impunity. 

Conflict-related sexual violence is being employed as a deliberate tactic of war, intended to terrorize, displace, and control populations, and to violate the dignity and rights of women and girls. Even in times of relative peace, North Kivu province had staggering rates of sexual violence reported every year, with over 50,000 cases of gender-based violence reported in 2023 and over 56,000 cases in 2024.

But while the rates of sexual violence soar, basic services are being cut off or shut down. The eight UNFPA-supported mobile clinics, safe spaces, and listening centers are only partially functional, while the rest of the facilities that provide medical treatment and counseling to survivors in displacement camps have been looted. Medical supplies and equipment worth millions of dollars have also been looted from storage facilities in Goma, leaving thousands of women and girls without access to quality medical care. In Goma, with more than 2 million inhabitants, there are only three functioning hospitals able to provide clinical care to survivors of sexual assault and a handful of community-level health clinics that can provide basic emergency care. 

Aid agencies are struggling to deliver food, medical care or essential supplies, with critical supply routes cut off by fighting and movement restrictions imposed by the de facto authorities in control of Goma and its surroundings.

Under these almost impossible circumstances, UNFPA is doing all it can to provide life-saving reproductive health and protection services for survivors of sexual violence and pregnant women in the affected regions. UNFPA-supported mobile clinics and safe spaces continue to operate, and dignity kits—filled with hygiene essentials—will be distributed to women who have lost everything. 

UNFPA is urgently appealing for $18 million to scale up its integrated reproductive health and gender-based violence services to address the escalating crisis. Women in the DRC need access to medical services, psychosocial support,  information, and safe passage to secure locations to escape the violence. UNFPA joins the call of other humanitarian actors urging parties to reopen Goma airport, a critical access point for humanitarian supplies and aid workers.

UNFPA emphasizes the critical need for comprehensive care and access to justice for survivors of sexual violence, including the documentation and investigation of the violence they faced and the prosecution of perpetrators. 

Finally, UNFPA joins the call for an immediate ceasefire to end the violence and enable peace to be restored. 

Media: For interview requests please contact Eddie Wright (based in NYC): ewright@unfpa.org; +1 917 831 2074

About UNFPA

UNFPA is the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency. UNFPA's mission is to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled. UNFPA calls for the realization of reproductive rights for all and supports access to a wide range of sexual and reproductive health services, including voluntary family planning, quality maternal health care and comprehensive sexuality education.