Violence in eastern DRC

• La Benevolencija Humanitarian Tools Foundation is an international NGO that focuses on societies and individuals targeted by hate speech resulting in large-scale violence. The organization makes use of radio to broadcast educational media programmes and soap operas. • This report presents the findings of a research project undertaken by La Benevolencija with the objective to understand the nature of sexual violence in eastern DRC. Several weeks of fieldwork were undertaken in the Mutobo demobilization and reintegration camp and on a rural hill in Northern Rwanda. In total 101 ex-FDLR rebels were consulted on kowledge, attitudes and practices of FDLR combatants and other combatants with respect to rape, sexual violence and mutilation, and the psychological context enabling these actions in eastern DRC. It needs to be noted that the phenomenon of sexual violence is presented from the perspective of these ex-combatants. More in particular how they personally make sense of it. • The ex-rebels observed several instances of sexual violence. Rape as such is frequently mentioned, but is often perpetrated in a particular way. “Gang rape”, the rape of wome