UN Warns of Rising Sexual Violence Against Women in DR Congo

A 17-year-old girl was separated from her family when a non-state armed group raided her village in DR Congo and took her to the forest.

Women and girls in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are trapped in one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises and face rampant insecurity, a senior United Nations official warned on Tuesday after a visit to the country.

Speaking to journalists at the UN Office at Geneva, Shoko Arakaki, Director of Humanitarian Affairs at the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), said essential services have been severely disrupted, while incidents of rape and conflict-related sexual violence have surged by one-third compared to last year.

“Congolese women and girls endure tremendous suffering but never give up on hope,” she said, adding that even before the most recent escalation of conflict, three women in the DRC died every hour from pregnancy- and childbirth-related complications.

During her visit to Kinshasa and Goma in the east, Ms. Arakaki witnessed firsthand the harsh realities facing women and girls. She met midwives delivering babies under extremely difficult conditions and mothers who had lost everything.

“Women and girls are also being raped, exploited, and abused in camps, during transit, and within their own communities,” she said.

Often described as one of the world’s most neglected humanitarian crises, the DRC continues to experience alarming levels of gender-based violence. According to recent reports, sexual exploitation, abuse, and coercion are widespread — particularly in overcrowded displacement camps where protection and security remain limited.

The crisis is further exacerbated by chronic hunger and a lack of livelihood opportunities for displaced and host communities.

Across the DRC, the demand for emergency assistance is rising sharply, with 27 million people projected to need humanitarian aid in 2025. Without a solution to the ongoing conflict in the eastern provinces, the humanitarian and displacement situation is expected to deteriorate even further.

Ms. Arakaki shared the story of a 14-year-old girl who had survived multiple rapes and was recovering from surgery at a UNFPA-supported hospital, still holding on to her dream of returning to school.

UNFPA currently provides essential health services to women and girls across the DRC, targeting 1.4 million people. The agency has made an urgent appeal for increased funding to continue delivering life-saving reproductive care and psychosocial support for survivors of gender-based violence.

The agency also called on all parties to the conflict to uphold their legal obligations to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure — including health facilities — and to ensure the safe and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian assistance wherever it is needed.