Last summer I travelled to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to help establish the first free legal advice centre in Kinshasa. I arrived with grand aspirations and bags of enthusiasm. But it was short lived. It was not long before I discovered the vast sexual exploitation of young Congolese women at the hands of peace keeping troops, aid workers, non-governmental organisation employees and others acting on behalf of the international community.

At restaurants, bars and clubs, white men in smart suits dangled dollars as bait before impoverished young girls’ eyes, some as young as 12. They did so with no shame and arrogant impunity. Their actions are despicable; they rape the most vulnerable children and adults in the world, the very people they are supposed to protect. It is hard to imagine a more grotesque abuse of authority and flagrant violation of human rights.

Heavily dependent on foreign aid and with virtually no regulation or accountability, Kinshasa’s justice system is dysfunctional and ill-equipped to deal with a rising tide of sex missionaries. In a city with exceeding levels of unemployment and few opportunities, the impoverished are sexually exploited by do-gooder men because they need money to survive. Victims do not have access to courts and the police, as they are under resourced and the enforcement agents themselves are often complicit in the abuse.

Many victims also fear that if they report the abuse they will suffer stigmatisation, negative economic impact, fear of retaliation or retribution and resignation of abuse. As a result an overwhelming majority of victims do not report the abuse. Under-reporting perpetuates a lack of accountability for the abuse, since it underplays the true scale of the problem. This creates a perfect environment for abuse by visiting humanitarian workers to flourish.

I discussed the abuse with humanitarian workers and I was astounded by their response. The women I spoke to turn a blind eye and refuse to discuss the matter on anything more than a superficial level. Meanwhile the male abusers believed that their behaviour is acceptable. It seems that once people are taken out of socially and legally controlled societies where their desires are repressed by rules and order, they feel able to fulfil their sexual fantasies through licentious behaviour with no conscience. You might wonder how they reconcile their humanitarian role with their abusive acts; it appears that their charitable purpose compensates for any conscience that might arise.

The question is why are there no rules or order in the Congo?

Annie Anthrax wrote on May 23^rd, 2012 at 1:40pm:


Maybe something to do with the people in post-colonial* countries?

Can you see another common link between these post-colonial countries that might explain it a bit better than the bizarre and illogical "legacy of colonialism"?