Violence against women during periods of conflict:
The case of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Lying at the centre of the African continent, and covering an area of 2,345,000 km2, the DRC is home to some 60 million inhabitants, 52 per cent of whom are women. The country's coveted natural resources, far from enriching the country, have been the cause of repeated wars and indescribable suffering.

For more than a decade, or more precisely since 1996, the DRC has been tormented by a hellish cycle of armed conflict concentrated largely in the country's eastern provinces: North and South Kivu, Maniema and North Katanga. These conflicts have been accompanied by grave human rights violations—victimizing women and children in particular.

According to the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, “the term 'violence against women' means any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.” In the DRC, women have endured, and in some cases continue to endure, situations worse than those described in this definition. Displaced or itinerant women are among the most affected, together with disabled and elderly women.

Sexual violence and impunity in the DRC

The problem of violence against Congolese women in situations of armed conflict relates in large measure to sexual violence. Such violence—during and in the aftermath of conflict—takes the basest forms of cruelty: individual or collective rape; penetration of the vagina with sharp objects, sticks, or other devices; abduction into sexual slavery; and forced incest (between brothers and sisters, sons and mothers, fathers and daughters).

The perpetrators of such atrocities can be counted among the ranks of lawless armed groups as well as regular armed forces operating in the country. The DRC has been a theatre of war for more than 10 regular armies and armed rebel groups for at least seven years— some rebelling against, others allied with, the government in power.

Even peacekeeping soldiers with MONUC (the United Nations Mission in the DRC) have taken advantage of women's vulnerable position in conflict situations to obtain sex, in some cases with young girls.

The victims range in age from three months to 80 years.1 The causes are several— from shameless, obsessive and egotistical sexual need; to belief in obscure fetishistic practices as a supposed source of invincibility; to vengeance and humiliation of the “enemy”, using rape as a weapon of war.

The consequences are varied as well:

• physical (haemorrhaging, laceration of the vagina or fistulas, lower limb paralysis) resulting in death for most victims;
• psychological (rejection by society, shame, self-denial, mental depression, suicidal tendencies and other forms of trauma);
• unwanted pregnancies, abortions;
• high rates of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases; and
• high mortality rates for women and girls.

The suffering of women afflicted with fistulas—open wounds extending from the vagina to the anus—is inexpressible. Apart from continuous haemorrhaging, to such women lose control of their menstrual, urinary, and excretory functions, producing a nauseating, unbearable odour. According to the testimony of NGO physicians attending to such victims, corrective surgery requires multiple interventions and is a prolonged, costly and painful process.

Tragically, the perpetrators of such hateful crimes think little of them, enjoying as they do virtual immunity from prosecution. Some are occasionally identified and arrested but are then released by authorities supposedly responsible for citizens' security. Some of these sociopaths return to repeat their crimes, sometimes against the very same victims. Such impunity represents an indictment of the country's judicial authorities, which have all the domestic and international legal instruments they need to effect the punishment required.

Solutions for the eradication of sexual violence against women

In devising strategies to combat this scourge, it is important to take victims' concerns and priorities into account. From their standpoint, urgent priority should be assigned to clinical, followed by judicial and economic, interventions. Security concerns, pending a definitive cessation of hostilities in the areas still subject to open conflict, should also receive priority.

The law criminalizing sexual violence was adopted by Congolese legislators in September 2006. Provisions in the law included amendments to the DRC's Penal Code to expand and clarify the definition of rape—to eliminate ambiguity and to punish all forms of rape more heavily.

This represents an effort by the DRC to combat impunity and comply with relevant provisions of international legal instruments ratified by its government on the specific rights of women, and in particular Article 7 (g) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, with respect to crimes against humanity.

It is important as well for authorities to take effective measures in this area, such as those indicated in Security Council resolution 1820, entitled “Women, Peace and Security”. This resolution is welcome in that it strengthens resolution 1325, criminalizing rape and other forms of sexual violence in armed conflict situations as war crimes and crimes against humanity. It calls for targeted and graduated measures against parties to any armed conflict that commit such atrocities and, for United Nations peacekeeping operations, establishes the principle of zero tolerance to sexual exploitation and violence.

The Top Ten

WORLD CLASSIFICATION

Rank	Coutry	Lower or single House				Upper House or Senate
		Elections	Seats	Women	% W	Elections	Seats	Women	% W
1	Rwanda	9 2008	80	45	56.3%	10 2003	26	9	34.6%
2	Sweden	9 2006	349	164	47.0%	---	---	---	---
3	Cuba	1 2008	614	265	43.2%	---	---	---	---
4	Finland	3 2007	200	83	41.5%	---	---	---	---
5	Netherland	11 2006	150	62	41.3%	5 2007	75	26	34.7%
6	Argentina	10 2007	255	102	40.0%	10 2007	72	28	38.9%
7	Denmark	11 2007	179	68	38.0%	---	---	---	---
8	Angola	9 2008	220	82	37.3%	---	---	---	---
9	Costa rica	2 2006	57	21	36.8%	---	---	---	---
10	Spain	3 2008	350	127	36.3%	3 2008	263	79	30.0%

For the compleate IPU statistics on Women in National Parliaments, visit our web page for the current data or the situation as at 28 February 2009

Fifteen per cent of chambers reach 30% or more women members

The number of parliaments to have reached the minimum target of 30 per cent women members set by the United Nations has grown significantly in the past decade. In 1998 just six single/lower chambers had reached the target, all of which were European. Today the figure has grown six-fold, with 24 single/lower houses of parliament having surpassed 30 per cent women members. This distinction is no longer limited to European parliaments: the lineup is now diverse and includes post-conflict and developing States from Africa, Asia and Latin America. In addition, 15 upper houses have reached the target, bringing the overall total to 39 out of 264 chambers (15%).

Rwanda reinforced its position at the top of the scoreboard by electing more than 56 per cent women members to its lower house in September 2008. This is the first single/lower house in history where women hold the majority of seats. That marked an improvement on its previous record, when in its first post-conflict elections held in 2003 it elected nearly 49 per cent women members. Rwanda is joined by Angola (37.3%), Burundi (30.5%), Mozambique (34.8%), South Africa (33%), Tanzania (30.4%) and Uganda (30.7%) as the seven African countries to have reached the target in single/lower houses.

Cuba, New Zealand and Spain consolidated their positions after slightly improving their proportion of women members, with 43.2, 33.6 and 36.3 per cent respectively. While Cuba and New Zealand have no legislated quotas, Spain has a mandated candidate quota requiring political parties to nominate at least 40 per cent women candidates. Austria was the only country to fall off the list after the proportion of women members dropped five percentage points to 27.3 following snap elections in which right-wing parties made gains. Globally, left-wing parties are more likely to implement special measures to increase women's access to political office.

Belarus and The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia joined the list in 2008, electing 31.8 and 30 per cent women members respectively. It is the first time since the regime changes that took place during the 1990s in Eastern Europe that women have been elected in such numbers. Nepal is the first directly elected Asian parliament to join the ranks, with 32.8 per cent women members. Its new electoral arrangements mandated that at least 33 per cent of electoral candidates overall should be women. In addition to the single and lower houses, several upper houses reached or surpassed the 30 per cent target in 2008. Swaziland's upper house saw the election and appointment of 40 per cent women members to the chamber, its highest ever. In addition, renewals in Belarus (33.9%), Belize (38.5%), Grenada (30.8%) and Spain (29.9%) resulted in a critical mass of women in each chamber. This brings to 15 the number of upper houses to have reached the target in 2008.

In contrast to these performances, one quarter of all parliamentary chambers (51 single/lower houses and 14 upper houses out of 264) have less than 10 per cent women members. In addition, there are nine chambers with no women members at all (mainly in the Pacific Islands and Arab Gulf States). So while overall averages indicate upward trends, there is little room for complacency with so many parliaments yet to achieve a bare minimum proportion of women members.

AFRICA

In Africa, Rwanda's Parliament made history when its lower house elected a majority of women members, 56.3 per cent, while in Angola women took 37 per cent of the seats in its first post-conflict election. Rwanda reinforced its position at the top of the leader board by electing more than 56 percent women members to its lower house in September 2008. This is the first single/lower house in history where women hold the majority of seats. It improved on the previous record it had set, when in its first postconflict elections held in 2003 it elected nearly 49 percent women. Rwanda is joined by Angola (37.3%), Burundi (30.5%), Mozambique (34.8%), South Africa (33%), Tanzania (30.4%) and Uganda (30.7%) as the seven African countries to have reached the target in single/lower houses.

ASIA

Asia has registered the slowest rate of progress in terms of women's access to parliament over the past fifteen years, reaching a regional average of 17.8 per cent. However, there were some significant gains for women in 2008. In all, 14 chambers were renewed and women took nearly 19 per cent of the seats on offer. The biggest gain was registered in Nepal, where women took 32.8 per cent of the seats. The new electoral arrangements mandated political parties to ensure that 33 per cent of the candidates chosen from party lists to take seats in parliament must be women, a measure that guaranteed women's success. Pakistan also elected the highest number of women to its lowest chamber, with women taking 76 of the 342 seats on offer. Sixty seats in the parliament are reserved for women, and 16 women won in the competition for open seats. In Bhutan, the first general elections were held to the new 47-member National Assembly, contested under a majority electoral system with women taking four seats. The lowest proportion of women was registered in the Islamic Republic of Iran, where women won just 2.8 per cent of the seats.

THE AMERICAS

Some impressive gains were registered in the Americas in 2008. Women took 26.5 per cent of the seats, on average, for the 12 chambers renewed. Overall, women hold 21.5 per cent of all seats in the region, second only to the Nordic countries. The high annual gains are attributable to the success of women candidates in Cuba (43.2%) and the upper houses in Belize (38.5%) and Grenada (30.8%). In the United States, both houses of Congress held elections, returning their highest proportions of women members: 17 per cent in each chamber.

Women's access to parliaments in the Caribbean States is erratic, as highlighted in Belize and Grenada. While women were appointed to nearly 40 per cent of seats in the upper house in Belize, no women won election to the lower house. Just three women contested the lower house elections (compared with 90 men), none of whom was successful. In Grenada, the biggest percentage point drop — 13.3— was registered after the number of women members halved from four to two in the lower house. Nevertheless, women were appointed to 30 per cent of the seats in the upper house. With small chamber sizes and the majority systems used to elect lower houses, women's chances of success are limited. However, appointing women to upper houses has proved an important counterbalance to poor electoral results in lower chambers.

EUROPE

The consistent rate of progress in Europe was largely sustained in the 19 chambers that were renewed, with women taking more than 21 per cent of the seats on offer. In addition to Spain, Belarus, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Austria already mentioned, women made inroads in parliament in France, Monaco and Serbia, all of which adopted some form of temporary special measures. Drops in the representation of women were registered in Georgia, Malta and Romania. The change in Romania's electoral system, from a proportional to a mixed member system where most members are elected by majority vote, contributed to a decline in the number of women elected.

PACIFIC ISLAND STATES

The lowest return rate for women in 2008 was registered in the Pacific Island States, at less than four per cent on average. The parliaments of Nauru, Palau, Tonga and Vanuatu were renewed, and just five of the 131 seats on offer went to women. Two women won seats in the upper house in Palau; it has been a decade since a woman last sat in that parliament. In Vanuatu, two women were returned to the parliament. In the elections in Nauru, Tonga and Palau's lower house, no woman won a seat. However, in Tonga, one woman was appointed to the cabinet, automatically becoming a member of parliament.

Three other Pacific Island States — the Federated States of Micronesia, the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu — have no women members either. While a handful of female candidates stand for election in these States, few receive enough votes to be elected. The extreme difficulties women face in being elected has led to calls from different sectors for governments and parliaments of the region to take action. A regional dynamic is beginning to take hold where special measures, such as reserved seats for women, are being proposed and debated as the only real policy option to redress the gender imbalances in parliament.

WOMEN PRESIDING OFFICERS OF PARLIAMENT

At the end of 2008, women presided over 31 of the 264 parliamentary chambers (11.7%) worldwide. The proportion of women holding the highest office in parliament has hovered around this mark for the past decade. The highest concentration of women Speakers are in Europe with 13, followed by 10 in the Americas, six in Africa, and a woman Speaker each in Pakistan and Israel. During 2008, a woman took up the post of Speaker for the first time in history in Rwanda, Serbia and Uzbekistan.

ARAB STATES

According to the latest IPU survey on the world average of women members across all parliamentary chambers, in 2008 the Pacific Island States and the Arab States once again saw the lowest return rate of women legislators. Only four chambers were renewed in the Arab States. Women took over 9 per cent of the seats, on a par with its overall regional average. Women took the most seats in Djibouti, with 9 out of 56 seats, an improvement of two since women first entered the parliament in 2003. In Tunisia's upper house, women took 13.5 per cent of the seats, imitating the previous configuration. Early elections were held in Kuwait, and as with the previous elections held less than two years earlier, no woman candidate was successful. However, two women were appointed to the cabinet and took up seats in parliament (cabinet ministers also sit in parliament). No woman was among the appointees to the 35-member Qatari Advisory Council. Qatar, along with the Federated States of Micronesia and Saudi Arabia, has never had a woman member.