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RAISE Hope for Congo PDF Print E-mail

 On October 21, 2008 the ENOUGH project, which works with concerned citizens, advocates, and policy makers to prevent, mitigate, and resolve crises in Africa, launched its RAISE Hope for Congo campaign to protect and empower Congolese women and girls.
Since 1996, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has played host to the world’s deadliest conflict since World War II. More than 5.4 million people have died from the ravaging effects of war and its aftermath. Today, eastern Congo is caught in an epidemic of appalling sexual violence, as militias use rape as a military tactic to destroy communities and exert control over natural resources. The conflict has been marked by cycles of escalation, and the international response has been wholly inadequate.

Congolese women and girls in particular bear the vicious brunt of this crisis. Indeed, eastern Congo right now is the most dangerous place in the world to be a woman or a girl. Used as a weapon of war, sexual violence and rape exist on a scale seen nowhere else in the world. Often successful in its intent to destroy and exterminate, rape is causing the destruction of women, their families, and their communities. Congo’s women are the backbone of Congolese society and are the country’s best, brightest hope. Yet efforts to protect women and girls in the Congo are failing spectacularly.

Taking course over the year through teach-ins, community organizing, and national outreach, the campaign will:

  • Raise awareness about the crisis, the resulting widespread sexual violence against women and girls, and the solutions that are necessary to end the conflict.
  • Increase news coverage of the conflict in eastern Congo.
  • Build a movement of activists who can advocate effectively for change.
  • Influence and change policy on the Congo through promotion of the 4Ps – Peace, Protection, Punishment, and Prevention – the four ingredients necessary to END the mass violence against women in Congo.

Take Action:

Tell the President to take action on sexual violence in Congo!

Support the International Violence Against Women Act!

To learn more about the campaign and how you can get involved visit: www.raisehopeforcongo.org 

Learn More About Violence Against Women: In addition to being an egregious human rights violation that knows no borders, violence against women is a major cause of poverty - it keeps women from going to work, feeding their children, and earning the income they need to make their lives better. In times of conflict, as is the case in Congo, women often suffer the most from violence. To learn more about the link between violence against women and world poverty and the International Violence Against Women Act click here.
Last Updated ( Friday, 17 October 2008 )
 
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