“I was afraid to tell anyone” – supporting survivors of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Names have been changed.

Françoise’s story

Françoise, 17, fled her village when fighting approached. She lives in a camp for people uprooted by the conflict, on the outskirts of Goma, in North Kivu Province.

“With a group of other women, I started going to the forest to collect firewood for sale,” she said. “About two weeks ago, we came across a group of uniformed armed men. We ran and they chased us. Two of them caught me when I fell on the ground and couldn’t run any more. They raped me one by one. They didn’t say anything. I could see they were also scared.

Source : Icrc