A September 9 internal report by the United Nations Population Fund, the UN agency tasked with improving reproductive and maternal health, found that 268 out of the 348 women held in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Makala prison – nearly 80 percent – were victims of rape and other sexual violence when an attempted prison break earlier this month turned deadly. The report, seen by Human Rights Watch and first reported on by Reuters, notes that 17 of the survivors of sexual violence were younger than 19.
Following the violence at the prison on September 2, Congolese Interior Minister Jacquemain Shabani announced the same day that 129 prisoners died and 59 were injured. He also said there were “some women raped.” On September 4, a female prisoner told Human Rights Watch that she watched women being raped and none had received appropriate health care.
The report notes that while timely post-rape care, such as emergency contraception against pregnancy and HIV post-exposure prophylaxis, was provided to a number of survivors within 72 hours of the assaults, there was no adequate counseling support until September 11.
Sexual violence is a chronic problem in Congo’s prisons. In September 2020, a prison riot at Kasapa Central Prison in Lubumbashi caused a fire in the women’s section that forced the female prisoners into the main prison yard for three days, where the prison failed to provide any protection. For three days, male prisoners repeatedly raped several dozen female prisoners, including a teenage girl. A trial held 16 months later was a missed opportunity to meaningfully investigate what happened and hold those responsible, including direct perpetrators and state officials, to account.
Compounding this is the overcrowding and poor living and sanitation conditions common in Makala and many other Congolese prisons.
On September 2, Shabani said that a mixed commission would be created to establish the facts around the incident at Makala prison. While this commission will face several challenges, it should give special focus to a critical question: What does the government need to do to tackle sexual violence in Congo’s prisons and ensure the dignity and security of women and girls?