One of the great things about my office is that my CEO completely supports everybody in their professional and academic endeavors, including interns. On my first day she told me that if I'm working 9-5, four days a week, every week, and not going on tours, attending lectures, and networking, then I'm not taking advantage of the city. So, last Thursday I attended a lecture at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars over "Sexual Violence and the Political and Security Implications in the Congo." This was particularly interesting to me because I had recently taken a cultural anthropology course about women and culture in developing countries, and Guatemala, Peru, Uganda, Rwanda, and Argentina have experienced rape as a weapon of war in strikingly similar ways to the DRC.
María Otero, Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs from the Department of State, Mark Schneider, Senior VP of the International Crisis Group, and Dr. Denis Mukwege, Director of Panzi Hospital and 2010-2011 Winner of the King Baudouin International Development Prize, were on the panel at the WWICS, providing a balance between the political policy developments and humanitarian efforts to support victims.
Dr. Mukwege discussed the range of services Panzi hospital tries to provide victims of rape with, from surgery to psychological help. He spoke extensively of the need to spread the fact that rape is not always a byproduct of war; it can be a weapon of war used to systemically dehumanize, humiliate, displace, ethnically cleanse, and destroy the integral unit of society--the family unit. He particularly emphasized the psychological aspect of healing for victims. In many cases, these rapes are conducted in front of family members to destroy the family unit with shame and violence, and despite the difficulties that come with mending these families, Dr. Mukwege believes it can be done with extensive socioeconomic projects and psychological assistance for the victims and their families. Finally, he explained his belief that soldiers of the DRC need to be considered victims as well, victims of mental degradation that cannot hope to be integrated into a unified Congolese army. This is a grisly topic of foreign policy, but Dr. Mukwege provided hope to the audience with his uplifting stories from the hospital and with his insightful policy recommendations.
Secretary Otero and Mr. Schneider then provided similar analyses of the problems in the DRC and what the US, UN, and EU should strive to include in their foreign policies towards the Congo. These objectives were to decrease impunity for the perpetrators by eliminating obstacles within the judiciary system (ineffective penal systems, better witness protection, and generally strengthening the judicial system), increasing prevention and protection for vulnerable populations by working at the community level within the DRC with boys and men to emphasize the value of women, to improve the capacity of the security sector to address sexual violence, and to increase access to quality services for survivors with improved infrastructure (the DRC has terrible roads) and hospitals (hence why Dr. Mukwege was so influential on this panel). Otero emphasized integrated US policies, EU/UN policies, and NGO efforts to provide uniform reform and assistance, while Schneider emphasized the need for corporations and consumers of conflict minerals (gold, diamonds, etc.) to demand clean goods from Africa--many times rape is used to displace populations away from sites that can be mined for precious minerals.
Overall, the problem in the DRC and all policy surrounding the magnitude of sexual based violence seems to stem from a lack of knowledge that rape is a weapon of war, the reluctance of the Congolese government to reform its own judiciary, and the lack of unity between efforts of governments and other organizations. The conflicting opinions and lack of progress in the DRC that I saw at this panel actually inspired me to take this on as my (foreign) policy research paper. Despite the gore and tragedy that surrounds this issue, I hope to find that efforts can be streamlined and real reform can take place to protect women and their families of the DRC.
KMB
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