Geneva, Switzerland

Sexual violence targeting children in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has never been so high, Unicef said on Friday April 11, 2025, denouncing a real “systemic crisis”.
According to initial indications, “thousands of children were victims of rape and sexual violence in just two months” at the start of the year, said Unicef spokesman James Elder at a press briefing, claiming that this was “perhaps just the tip of the iceberg”.
The resource-rich east of the DRC, bordering Rwanda, has been plagued by conflict for thirty years, but the crisis has intensified in recent months with the capture in January and February of the major cities of Goma and Bukavu by the M23 armed group, backed by Kigali and its army.
“The rate of sexual violence against children has never been so high,” said Mr. Elder from Goma.
The spokesman explained that children “represent between 35 and 45% of the nearly 10,000 cases of rape and sexual violence reported (…) in January and February of this year alone”.

“We’re not talking about isolated incidents, but a systemic crisis,” he said, claiming that there were also “toddlers” among the victims.
“This is a weapon of war and a deliberate tactic of terror. And it destroys families and communities,” he added.
Mr. Elder told the story of a 13-year-old girl who was raped, who simply didn’t understand how she could be pregnant and who had to undergo a C-section “because of her small body”.
Unicef is calling for “urgent and collective measures”, particularly in terms of prevention and support for victims so that they can be cared for, but also so that they can report such violence without fear. “And the perpetrators must be brought to justice”, said Mr. Elder.
But the lack of international funding is straining the work of humanitarian organizations, a crisis accelerated by the massive reduction in US international aid since Donald Trump returned to power.
“As with all prevention efforts, funding is critical, and the children of the DRC have not been spared the consequences of the global funding crisis,” said Elder.
“In just one of the hospitals I visited this week, 127 rape survivors had no access to PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis) kits. This is a direct consequence of the rapid cuts in funding“, he said, lamenting that ”these girls and women are suffering the most unimaginable horrors and no longer receive even the basic medical care they need”.

Humaniterre with AFP