Doctors Without Borders (MSF) reported treating an “unprecedented” number of sexual violence victims in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2023. Last year, the organization assisted over 25,000 victims, averaging more than two cases every hour, the highest number ever recorded by MSF in the country.
The victims were treated across five eastern provinces, particularly around displacement camps near Goma, North Kivu, where ongoing clashes between the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels and the Congolese army have displaced hundreds of thousands since late 2021.
Christopher Mambula, head of MSF’s programs in the country, noted that two-thirds of the victims reported being attacked at gunpoint, often while gathering resources near the camps. MSF highlighted that the significant presence of armed groups and inadequate humanitarian responses contribute to the rise in sexual violence.
In previous years, MSF treated an average of 10,000 sexual violence victims annually, making 2023 a notable increase. Additionally, one in ten victims treated this year were minors. In 2024, MSF reported over 17,000 cases treated from January to May in North Kivu.
MSF calls on all conflict parties to adhere to international humanitarian law, particularly the prohibition of sexual violence and the protection of civilian displacement sites.