The scale of rape in the Democratic Republic of Congo represents a human rights and health crisis, a report by Amnesty International said Tuesday.
The report documents cases of brutal sexual violence and highlights the lack of effective access to adequate medical care for the tens of thousands of survivors, said the report released in Kinshasa, Congo.
"We are now more than one year on from the installation of a transitional government in DRC, yet this government and the international community has done very little to address the human needs of the Congolese people, especially in the war-ravaged east," said officials with Amnesty International. "It is impossible for survivors to access decent medical care -- a further violation of their human rights."
Women, children and men have been raped and survivors interviewed by Amnesty International gave horrifying accounts of the rape they suffered at the hands of warring factions.
In addition to the medical issues, the report said that because of the stigma attached to rape, survivors often suffer rejection by their communities, abandonment by their husbands and are cut off from economic means of survival.
© Copyright 2004 by United Press International
