Previously I wrote about the troubles in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and how the down falls of this post-war country have left the women and children victimized by local government militias. "In eastern Congo, rape and sexual violence are routinely employed as weapons to subjugate villages and terrorize entire communities. From old women to young children, the soldiers do not discriminate; the stories of their brutality and torture are so horrific that they rarely reach Western ears. Inside the country however, the locals have accepted mass rape as the status quo; even women who have been attacked will tell you, "This is just Congolese life" (Wanga). I also briefly brushed over a few of the non-profit organizations (NPOs) and lone citizens that have given a helping hand in efforts to relieving these people of their inherited stresses.
Why should you care you may ask? You should care because this does pertain to you; it may appear as something distant from us here in the United States but these people are just as much a part of the world's future as you are. Just because they have thousands of miles away, do not mistake this as a distant and foreign problem. This is, in its simplest terms, women who are being denied their civil rights that each human being accedes to at birth. Imagine that your rights are taken away. Imagine that you had no say so in what your body was used for. Imagine that your children are raped and murdered in front of your very eyes. Imagine that your once beloved husband abandons you after you were raped by enemy militia. Imagine that this is your government's military; the same men that were supposed to be protecting your rights and your families are the very men who are depriving you of such rights. Would you then see this in a different light? What will it take to make this something personal? How many more women and children will die before we see the seriousness?
The answer: The answer is now. The answer is awareness. The answer lies in each and every individual. Know who is taking action and what efforts are being made. Educate yourself.
According to the Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 (VAWA), the definition of sexual assault is as follows:
Any act committed against a person's will by force, coercion or trickery that is of a sexual nature. Sexual assault is an invasion of a person's body and mind. It includes
not only rape, but also other criminal acts such as spousal rape, attempted rape, incest, child sexual assault, sexual harassment and indecent exposure. Sexual assault is
a crime used by one person to control, dominate, and humiliate another.
(provided by The National Alliance to End Sexual Violence)
Under laws such as these, American women are protected from violence such as this. Why should it be any different for the women of the DRC? Why should these women and children continue to be victims of sex slavery, in which they are kidnapped to be used repeatedly as sexual slaves for the entire group of their captors? This is something that Amnesty International (AI) hopes to put an end to. AI is a democratic, self-governing movement that is supported by national sections and local volunteer groups. By supporting such groups as these that search to find ways of improving the lives of women and children in these areas, we can end the violence now. The brutality in the DRC stems from the natural minerals that are prevalent in the area. AI plans to settle such disputes that result in human rights violations with new proposals such The Conflict Minerals Trade Act (H.R.4128) that was introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives by Congressman Jim McDermott in November of 2009. The bill "seeks to improve the transparency and reduce the trade in conflict minerals in the DRC in order to promote the larger policy goal of supporting peace and security in the DRC" (AI).
With that said, (although it may have appeared as a bunch of 'mumbo jumbo' of government policies and bills) it goes to show us that even the officials in our own government are making an effort to helping this countries' people. Why should we not do the same thing? On a more personal level, Eve Ensler included a story of a Congolese girl in The Vagina Monologues. "The monologue is a moving piece about a fifteen year old girl from Congo who is abducted and turned into a sex slave by military peacekeepers, and is the basis for having 10 percent of this years' ticket sales going to women and girls in the Democratic Republic of Congo"(Sauer). By making this known publicly, we can reach the masses. We can show the American people that the problem still persists and something needs to be done about it.
In 2008, Lisa Jackson composed The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo, a film she created from a compilation of interviews of women and children who had fallen victim to the brutal militias and also included interviews with the men who did the damage. She presented both sides in efforts to show the real problem, the portrayal of rape worldwide. Jackson states, "They had just confessed to war crimes, to heinous acts, and I had videotaped it" (Cochrane). Her film was shown to governments across the globe as to make everyone aware that this is a serious crime that persists in DRC. These men know what they are doing and show no remorse in their actions; being raped is becoming a part of life for the Congolese, meaning the battle is almost lost.
Many woman and children are not as lucky as we are in the United States. We live our lives with little worry and take for granted our human rights all the time. We are the privileged ones and it is our job to make sure that everyone gets what they deserve. It is our job, as a global effort, to see to it that everyone is given their social justice; whether they are the victim or are the predator. With the hundreds of NPOs and government agencies/policies, the anonymous volunteers, and human rights activists such as Jackson we can move forward. We are able to make the changes needed; we have the means to do so. It all comes back to making ourselves aware and getting involved at a local level. Once we fight these problems locally, combating them internationally follows in line; giving the women of the DRC and of all other war-ravaged countries hope for a better life.
