Escalation of sexual violence raises alarm in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Healthcare workers in the Uvira health zone of eastern DRC recorded more than 1,100 rape cases in the first quarter of 2026, a figure civil society groups describe as an alarm bell rather than an anomaly.

Chronic insecurity, mass displacement, and discriminatory norms drive the violence, while fear of reprisal and stigma keep most survivors from reporting at all. Legal reforms since 2022 have expanded victims' ability to seek justice without a spouse's consent, but awareness of these protections remains thin on the ground.

Civil society coordinators, lawyers, and psychologists describe overlapping efforts — alert networks, legal aid, psychosocial support — while acknowledging the response remains outmatched by the scale of the problem.

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