Accounts of child survivors shed light on surge of rape and sexual violence in conflict-torn DRC

Sixteen-year-old Darkuna watched, terrified, as six gun-wielding men ransacked her home. “For God’s sake, what do you really want?” she cried.

One of the fighters looked directly at the girl and responded: “I want you.”

After stealing the family’s valuables, each of the armed men raped Darkuna and her 18-year-old sister. Their parents, helpless, were forced to watch.

Darkuna is a pseudonym for the teenager, who provided this testimony to the United Nations’ children’s agency UNICEF via a partner organization on the ground in Goma, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Fighting has escalated in the mineral-rich region since the rebel coalition Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), of which the notorious M23 armed group is a key member, captured key territory earlier this year – including Goma, which as of late January was home to about 3 million people, of whom 1 million were displaced, according to a February Relief Web report.

The conflict has exacerbated what’s been described as an epidemic of rape and sexual violence that aid groups say often victimizes the youngest and most vulnerable.