Community Perspectives on Sexual and Gender-Based in Eastern RDC Report prepared by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Communication Programs For International Medical Corps Community Perspectives on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Eastern DRC September 2011 Suggested Citation: Babalola Stella, John A Neetu & Cernigliaro Dana (2011) Community perspectives on sexual and gender-based violence in Eastern DRC. Report prepared for the International Medical Corps. Baltimore, MD: Center for Communication Programs Community Perspectives on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Eastern DRC. Page ii Acknowledgements Many people contributed to the implementation of the study reported in this document. The study was commissioned by International Medical Corps (IMC) with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Communication Programs (CCP) took the lead in designing the study, training field workers, analyzing the data and preparing this report. Stella Babalola, Associate Professor at Johns Hopkins University and CCP Senior Research Advisor, was responsible for developing the protocol for the study and training field workers. She also led the data analysis and reporting process. Neetu John and Dana Cernigliaro, doctoral students at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, assisted with data analysis and reporting. We acknowledge Ma Umba Mabiala, Amrita Gill-Bailey and Guillaume Bakadi, CCP Senior Program Officers, who contributed to protocol development and helped to review initial versions of this report. IMC was responsible for obtaining local Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval, hiring field workers and data collection as well as transcription and translation. We acknowledge the invaluable contribution of the following IMC staff: Mathurin Dodo, Monitoring and Evaluation Director, led the IMC team on the study. He was responsible for obtaining IRB approval, liaising with local authorities, ensuring data integrity and quality, and reviewing the draft report. Alessia Radice, Behavior Change Communication (BCC) Program Manager, supervised the translation of focus group discussion and in- depth interview transcripts into English and reviewed the draft report. Cynthia Scarlett, then Chief of Party, was responsible for overall supervision of IMC staff working on the study. She reviewed the protocol and provided input into the development of the data collection tools. Tony Samamba, Database Manager, supervised field work and was responsible for ensuring data quality. Jessica Ramsel, Desk Officer, reviewed the translated transcripts. James Campbell, Country Director, provided the necessary support to facilitate a smooth and timely implementation of the study. This study was funded by USAID through its Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It could not have been implemented without the Mission's financial support and technical guidance. Community Perspectives on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Eastern DRC. Page iii Abbreviations and Acronyms APAS Association Paysane d’Auto-promotion Solidaire ASM Action Solidaire pour la Mutualité BBC British Broadcasting Corporation BCC Behavior change communication CAMPS Centre d’Appui Médical et Psychosocial CBO Community-based organization CCP Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Communication Programs DRC Democratic Republic of the Congo DOCS Doctor On Call Service EFPS Eveil des Femmes Pour la Paix et la Promotion Sociale FBO Faith-based organization FDLR Forces Démocratiques de Libération du Rwanda FGD Focus group discussion GRAM-Kivu Groupe de Recherche et d'Action contre la Marginalisation au Kivu HIV Human Immunodeficiency Syndrome IFEP Initiatives des Femmes pour l’Encadrement des Paysans IMC International Medical Corps IRB Institutional review board KII Key informant interview LADH Ligue des Associations des Droits de l’Homme MATU Maman Tushirikiane MSF Médecins Sans Frontières NGO Non-governmental organization SARCAF Service d’Accompagnement et de Renforcement des Capacités d’Auto-promotion des Femmes SGBV Sexual and gender-based violence TGI Tribunal de Grande Instance TRIPAIX Tribunal de Paix UNICEF The United Nations Children's Fund USAID United States Agency for International Development Community Perspectives on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Eastern DRC. Page iv Executive Summary The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has come to be known as the sexual violence capital of the world. Rape was widely used as a weapon of war in the protracted conflict that erupted in 1998 in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide. It is estimated that tens of thousands of women in the eastern part of the country have been subjected to sexual violence. The official end of the conflict in 2003 did not end violence and insecurity, particularly in Eastern DRC. Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) continues to be a common occurrence in Eastern DRC. Given the enormous consequences of SGBV and the particular situation in Eastern DRC, efforts are urgently needed to stem the incidence of SGBV in the region and mitigate its impact. The widespread stigma towards survivors of SGBV and their families, coupled with the general atmosphere of impunity and lawlessness, makes it difficult for survivors of SGBV to talk about their ordeal, seek redress and access care. Breaking the silence about SGBV and creating an atmosphere in which people feel safe to talk freely about SGBV is an essential first step towards eradicating this social problem. Efforts aimed at empowering communities to take a firm stand against SGBV and to take collective actions to prevent the crime and help the survivors are urgently needed. With funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the International Medical Corps (IMC) is working with local and international partners to design and implement a behavior change communication (BCC) program to address the problem of SGBV in Eastern DRC. The study described in this document is an attempt to obtain relevant information that will serve as the evidence base for developing a strategy for the IMC BCC program. The study examined community perspectives on SGBV in two provinces of DRC, North Kivu and South Kivu. We looked at perceptions about the causes and consequences of various forms of SGBV, perceptions about survivors and perpetrators, community understanding of legal provisions regarding SGBV, and community readiness and willingness to address the problem. We also examined perceptions about gender roles. There is a wide range of behaviors that are perceived in Eastern DRC to fall under the definition of SGBV. These include forced sex, intergenerational sex or marriage, sex with a minor, early marriage, transactional sex, extramarital sex, forced marriage, domestic violence, gender inequality and even neglect of parental responsibility. While the study participants decried most forms of SGBV, domestic violence, forced sex with one’s spouse and forcing a rape survivor to marry the rapist were seen as normative and tolerated. There was no consensus about the typical profile of the perpetrator, mainly because people from all walks of life have been known to perpetrate SGBV; no particular group is immune to including perpetrators. This study found that there are multiple layers of interrelated factors underlying SBGV in the study locations. These factors span structural, community, organizational, Community Perspectives on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Eastern DRC. Page v relational and individual levels. One set of overarching issues affecting the occurrence of SGBV includes poverty, political instability and widespread corruption, particularly severe in the post-war climate. Another set of issues includes existing social and cultural norms. The people do not see the government as trustworthy; corruption is rampant and well-known. Law-enforcement agents are known to accept bribes with impunity, which contributes to distrust of the government and the preference for settling conflicts without involving the authorities. Fear of stigma, lack of a sense of community efficacy to handle cases of sexual violence, and the culture of silence surrounding sexual violence make it even more preferable for families to handle cases of sexual violence outside of the legal system. Women are seen as the center of the household, caregiver for the children and a reflection of the husband and family. They are also seen as subordinate to their husbands and very much bound to them. The repercussions of a wife’s actions are seen to fall on the family and particularly to reflect on the husband. It is within this understanding that the situation of a wife who is a victim of rape or who is involved with any other situation considered negative reflects heavily and adversely on her husband and family. There is a noticeable disparity between how the community perceives survivors of sexual violence and their perceptions about what constitutes justice for survivors and their families. In general, the participants have negative perceptions about survivors of SGBV. The image of a survivor that emerged from the discussions and the word-listing exercises conducted in this study is that of a person who should be pitied and is sick, suffering, abandoned and neglected, exposed to discrimination, and emotionally disturbed. In contrast to these negative perceptions, community members saw more accepting attitudes toward