Rape In The Congo Research Paper

The Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) Civil War is rooted in history. Hundreds of years before their civil war, many people were kidnapped and forced into slavery. Ensuring a safe place aboard their own ships from disease and illness, European slave traders would employ the help of local tribal leaders to find people to be slaves and bring them to the coast. Slaves were usually traded for weapons to be used in conflicts with neighboring tribes. The Congo region learned early on that their inhabitants and their resources could be subject to exploitation. This is the example that was given when King Leopold II of Belgium gave as he took control the Congo Region and exploited its natural resources for personal gain. Called the Congo Free State, King Leopold II of Belgium was the sole shareholder and chair of the African International Society, a dummy
Rape has always been apart of war, but during the Congo wars, it was used to strike fear and obedience into those of rural tribes, it is about showing terror. Rape was used mostly by rebel militia’s, but has been used by the pro-Kabila militaries and by the United Nations Peacekeepers as well. Rape is so wide spread that it has a normal occurrence in the Congo and affects everyone involved. It is one of the first places where rape has been used as an act of war, instead of an act of just fulfilling one’s pleasures. Many of those that have been raped are considered “unclean” and no longer suitable for marriage. Some, just to make ends meet, have given their lives to prostitution, selling themselves for a mere $1 to UN Peacekeepers. Wherever you look in the DRC, widespread poverty and poor living conditions follow. These people do not have the ability to take matters into their own hands to fix their problems. Their lifestyles are a direct effect of others who did take matters into their own hands, and they have to suffer for