Sexual violence, eastern Congo

Sitting in front of a doctor, victims of sexual violence seek treatment at an improvised health center in South Kivu, eastern DRC.

According to the United Nations, 27,000 sexual assaults were reported in 2006 in South Kivu province alone, and that is considered just a fraction of the total number occurred. “The sexual violence in Congo is the worst in the world,” said John Holmes, the United Nations Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs.

The attacks go on despite the presence of the largest United Nations peacekeeping force in the world, with more than 17,000 troops.