Informing humanitarians worldwide 24/7 — a service provided by UN OCHA

DR Congo

Shocking Congo rape statistics obscure key point: Husbands rape more than soldiers, rebels do

More than 400,000 women were raped in a 12-month period in 2006-07. Around 60 percent of those raped were forced to have sex by their husbands or partners, according to a new study.

Shocking statistics are coming from a new report on rape in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

More than 400,000 women were raped in a 12-month period in 2006-07, according to a new study by three public health researchers from the International Food Policy Research Institute, Stony Brook University in New York, and the World Bank.

The study, due to be published in the American Journal of Public Health in June, found that 1,152 women are raped every day – a rate equal to 48 per hour.

Read the full article in the Christian Science Monitor.