Full report - International Alert

33 • Women’s Bodies as a Battleground: Sexual Violence Against Women and Girls During the War in the Democratic Republic of Congo5Types of Rape and Sexual ViolenceIn this chapter we identify the different types of rape and sexual violence that were committed,according to the victims’ own testimonies. We have classified them according to a series ofcriteria, such as the number of rapists per victim, the kind of place where the rape took place,how the rape was carried out, the ethnic identity of the perpetrator(s), and, finally, the typeof torture inflicted on the victim. The chapter closes with the opinions of the victims on theethnic identity of the rapists and on their state of mind when the attacks took place.5.1 Types of rapeThe rapes and sexual abuse were committed with unprecedented cruelty, the perpetrators havingdevised the most humiliating and degrading treatment they could inflict on their victims. A largenumber of rapes occurred in public places and in the presence of witnesses. Four types of rapehave been identified: individual rape, gang rape, rape in which victims are forced to rape eachother and rape involving objects being inserted into the victims’ genitals. In many cases, the rapevictims were tortured and others were murdered.5.1.1 Individual rapeThis is where a single perpetrator rapes a single victim. Of the 492 informants, 105, or21.3%, had been subjected to this type of rape.Number of attackers No. (Total = 492) %1 105 21.32 142 28.93 107 21.74 49 9.95 46 9.36 23 4.77 8 1.68 4 0.810 2 0.414 1 0.215 3 0.618 1 0.220 1 0.2Total 100Table 9: Distribution of interviewees by number of attackers5.1.2 Gang rapeTable 9 indicates that 390, or 79% of the women interviewed had been raped by at least twoattackers, either one after the other or simultaneously. The number of attackers ranged from1 to 20, giving an average of 4.5 attackers per victim.