More than 500 cases of domestic violence against women were registered in the Democratic Republic of Congo capital, Kinshasa, between March and November, according to a report.
The report published by the Forum of Engaged Women Citizens for Governance, Democracy and Development, known by its French acronym, FOFECEGDD, said 513 women suffered mostly physical domestic violence within the period.
Altogether, “775 emergency calls were registered at the call centre put in place by the forum and of the 513 cases recorded, 32.7 per cent concerned physical violence, 4 per cent concerned sexual violence, 3 per cent concerned economic violence, 57 per cent were for psychological violence, 1 per cent for murder, 2 per cent for deprivation of freedom and 1 per cent for cyberviolence. All these happened during the period of the state of emergency decreed by the head of state, ” the President of FOFECEGDD, Marie Lukusa Kadima, said.
After the state of emergency, “…there were 16 per cent of physical violence, 3 per cent of sexual violence, 17 per cent of economic violence, 52 per cent of psychological violence, no murders, 2 per cent of deprivation of freedom and no cyberviolence cases reported, ” Kadima added.
Meanwhile, only 30 victims benefitted from assistance by FOFECEGDD with the support of the Swiss Embassy in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Ten of that number received medical assistance while 10 received judicial support.
The Women’s Forum has thus launched a debate on the determining social diagnostics which are prerequisites for opening a judicial file on cases of domestic violence as well as the necessity for a specific law on domestic violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Forum of Engaged Women Citizens for Governance, Democracy and Development was created in April 2018 and representatives of the civil society and international organisations such as the United Nations International Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF) took part in the preparation and presentation of the report.
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