Mbuji-Mayi, 6 December 2011 - A conference-debate organized on 5 December by the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO) in Mbuji-Mayi, capital of Kasai Oriental, sought to inject new vigor into the fight against gender-based violence in the region. As part of the discussions of the global "16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence" campaign, the panel brought together political actors, civil society activists and judicial authorities from across the province to engage them in educating the local population about the consequences of gender-related acts of violence.

Violence committed against women and girls is an acute problem in Kasai Oriental, where it is common for parents, especially in rural areas, to give their girls for marriage at the age of 13 or 14 years old to men old enough to be their fathers. This practice is done in violation of a provincial government ban on early marriages.

In addition, there is widespread belief among local diamond traders that to be successful in the business, one must have sex with a virgin girl. As a consequence, young girls, even before puberty, are pushed into having sex, sometimes with members of their own families!

Due to the justice system's apparent inability to respond adequately to this scourge, most reported cases of minor abuse end up being settled out of court. Out of 197 cases referred to court in 2011, only 41 have reached final judgment, while 19 others are awaiting an appeal decision. Victims have been able to take their cases to court thanks to the combined support of the legal clinic and the free legal services funded by UNJHRO to fight impunity in the area of sexual violence.

Of the judgments pronounced on cases of sexual violence, only one has been punished with a 15 prison-year term, the heaviest sentence so far recorded. In 17 filed cases, court decisions have imposed sentences ranging from 4 months to 5 years' imprisonment. This is in contrast with Article 170 of the law on sexual violence, which provides for a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.

The conference-debate, which brought together 45 participants from the justice system, state agencies, civil society, media outlets, and political parties, highlighted four themes relating to violence against women and other types of sexual violence, followed by a question-and-answer session.

The Head of Office of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) in Kasai Oriental, Cheikh Bangoura, in his address, expressed concern at the current surge in acts of violence against women in Mbuji-Mayi, especially during the electoral period. He called for the preservation of human dignity as a condition for social development of the human person.

Marie Joselyne Palenquet/MONUSCO