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.