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Fighting the Silence
During the war in DR Congo more than 80,000 women and girls were raped
Published On 13 May 2009
13 May 2009
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And the evidence is that sexual violence against women continues to be a blight even after the war
When Ilse and Femke van Velzen heard about the ongoing rapes, they wanted to give the women a voice through their film: Fighting the Silence
Chantal, an activist for women's rights, is the key character in the documentary
Chantal understood the problems facing women in her society at a very early age and decided to become an activist
Although women are seen as second class citizens and have less rights than men, it is their hard work that keeps the country's economy ticking
Chantal is travelling the region to help rape victims living in communities that prefer to blame them rather than prosecute the rapists
For a woman and her family, the real trauma starts after the rape
By organising workshops and seminars, Chantal tries to get the rape victims and their communities to talk about the taboo
Chantal also organises seminars for soldiers and policemen and to discuss the issue of rape from their perspective
Rebel groups and militia see rape as a weapon that destroys a woman's family and the whole community built around it
Chantal wants to find out the reasons behind the violence
Civilians too have joined soldiers and rebels in raping women
When a woman is raped, society sees the victim as a curse on her family
Husbands of rape victims not only have to deal with the trauma but also the pressure from their communities to abandon their wives
With so many militias around, most women do not even know who raped them - a Burundian, Rwandan, Congolese, a rebel, or a civilian
A new law against sexual violence has been introduced, but it has not helped stop the rapes
The corrupt legal system makes it very difficult to punish rapists
Even if rapists get jailed, the corruption enables them get freed after a few days
Chantal talks to a young man in jail about why he had raped a little girl and whether he regretted what he did, but he showed no remorse
But the women do not give up fighting after everything that has happened to them
'Fighting the Silence' looks at why rape continues to plague DR Congo despite the war having officially ended in 2003
The film tells the shocking but empowering stories of Congolese rape survivors who are trying to change their world