11/16/2005

This private hospital in Goma is run by Doctors On Call Services or DOCS – HEAL. It provides high quality, life saving care to survivors of rape. Since 1996, the armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo has resulted in sexual violence against women and children. Rape is used as a weapon of war to torture, humiliate, punish, and break families apart in cruel and inhumane ways. Rape has become endemic in the eastern DRC leaving its thousands of survivors, mostly women, to deal with the devastating consequences, including genital and physical injuries, unwelcome pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections including HIV/AIDS, and emotional trauma. DOCS is hopeful that in the future when security returns to the region increased access to health care and earlier recognition of problems will prevent the physical and psychological injuries that are currently only treated at the center in Goma.