Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in the Kivu Provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo : Insights from Former Combatants

Motivations behind the extreme brutality
used in many cases of rape in the context of armed conflict
in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) remains poorly
understood and under-researched. This study has been
conducted in partnership with the Non-Governmental
Organization (NGO) vivo international, to determine
individual motivations, as well as strategic or tactical
aspects of sexual violence of different armed groups and
their leadership. The following chapter discusses the
context, including conceptual background, existing
literature on the subject of Sexual and Gender-Based
Violence (SGBV), the history of Armed Groups (AG) violence
in the affected region, and factors that may have
contributed to the current situation, in which rape and
other forms of violent sexual behavior seem endemic. Chapter
three describes the research methodology. The main body of
the study discusses the findings from semi-structured
interviews administered by a team of clinical psychologists
for this study. The last two chapters summarize the main
findings of the study, followed by recommendations.