View previous stories
	Business and Human Rights Documentation Project by ESCR-Net & agencies Center for Human Rights and Global Justice   The Business and Human Rights Documentation (B-HRD, pronounced “Be Heard”) Project, is a joint initiative of the International Network on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR-Net) and the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice (CHRGJ) at New York University School of Law.   B-HRD provides human rights defenders from around the world a platform to come together, exchange information, access documentation on business-related abuses, share effective strategies, and in essence—BE HEARD.   B-HRD aims to: Raise global awareness about the impacts of business activities on human rights.   Empower individuals and communities with information on strategies to advocate for corporate accountability.   Encourage advocates and journalists to produce and share documentation on business and human rights issues employing a human rights methodology.   Enhance research of business and human rights reporting by allowing users to search within and disaggregate individual reports based on industry, location, groups affected, rights implicated, and accountability mechanisms.   Strengthen connections and alliances between organizations and advocates challenging business-related human rights abuses worldwide.   Illustrate gaps in the international human rights protection regime and promote the development of stronger legal standards for business and human rights.   Giving you the tools you need to hold businesses accountable to human rights. Visit the related web page
	New report shows shocking pattern of rape in eastern Congo by Oxfam & Harvard Humanitarian Initiative   Apr 2010   An extensive study of rape victims in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) commissioned by Oxfam and conducted by the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative shows that 60 percent of rape victims surveyed were gang raped by armed men and more than half of assaults took place in the supposed safety of the family home at night, often in the presence of the victim’s husband and children.   While the majority of rapists were either soldiers or militiamen, the report also shows a shocking 17-fold increase in rapes carried out by civilians between 2004 and 2008.   The report, ‘Now, the world is without me’, is based on a study by the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, which analyzed information collected from 4,311 female rape victims who were treated in Panzi hospital in South Kivu Province over a four-year period. The report found that the incidence of rape spiked during military activities.   Given the ongoing offensives against militia groups in eastern Congo, the report has real relevance for the situation in DRC today. Over 5,000 people were raped in South Kivu only in 2009, according to the UN.   Krista Riddley Director of Humanitarian Policy, Oxfam said:   “Rape of this scale and brutality is scandalous. This is a wake-up call at a time when plans are being discussed for UN peacekeepers to leave the country. The situation is not secure if a woman can’t even sleep safely in her own bed at night. The report shows when and where women are attacked, and why peacekeepers must continue to play a vital role in creating security while the Congolese government builds up its own capacity to keep civilians from harm.”   The study shows that 56 percent of assaults were carried out in the family home by armed men. Sexual slavery was also reported, affecting 12 percent of the women in the sample, with some women being held captive for years.   The report also offers insights into the stigma facing women within their families after rape and the problems they face getting medical care. Less than one percent of women came to Panzi hospital with their husbands and nine percent had been abandoned by their spouse. One in three women came alone.   This stigma leads to delays in seeking treatment, with only 12 percent of the women coming to Panzi within a month of the assault. Very few women came for treatment in time to prevent HIV infection. Over 50 percent of women waited more than a year before seeking treatment, with a significant number waiting more than three years.   Krista Riddley from Oxfam said: “Panzi is the only hospital of its kind in South Kivu, which is home to some 5 million people. Many women from rural areas cannot make the journey and often die from the complications associated with brutal rape.   Rich country donors together with the Congolese government need to radically increase the medical services available for survivors of sexual violence in Congo’s remote towns and villages. Every woman should be able to get the treatment she needs.”   The research found that fewer than one percent of rapes were perpetrated by civilians in 2004. By 2008, that proportion had gone up to 38 percent.   Susan Bartels, the study’s lead researcher from the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, said, “This study confirms sexual violence has become more normal in civilian life. The scale of rape over Congo’s years of war has made this crime seem more acceptable. Although Congo has one of the most progressive laws on rape in Africa, few rapists are prosecuted. The law must be enforced and justice put within reach of survivors.”   Testimonies from the report (more available from Oxfam)   “It was a night in 2007 and my family and I were sleeping in our home. There was a knock from outside; assailants ordered my husband to open the door. A group of six men in military uniform, four armed with guns and two unarmed, came into the house. They started to loot all our valuables. They took us outside and forced us to follow them to the forest. Once we arrived in the forest, they freed my husband but forced me to continue going deeper into the bush with them. A commander had chosen me to be his wife and he kept me in the forest for seven months, raping me anytime he wanted. Because he did not think I was capable of escaping, he allowed me to wander alone and this is when I escaped.”   “My family and I were all sleeping when the soldiers arrived. They tied my husband’s hands behind his back and then they took turns raping me. Afterwards they took my husband and me to the forest. When my husband resisted they shot and killed him. I spent three weeks in the forest until one night I was able to escape. When I arrived home, I discovered that my little child was dead.”   “My husband and I were sleeping in our house. The children were sleeping in the house next door. The soldiers arrived and brought my daughter to our house where they raped her in the presence of my husband and me. Afterwards they demanded that my husband rape my daughter but he refused so they shot him. Then they went into the other house where they found my three sons. They killed all three of my boys. After killing them, two soldiers raped me one after the other,”   “We found them in our house. They pillaged everything. They put my husband on the bed and beat him. Then two of the soldiers raped me. This story is so tragic - I can’t believe this happened to me. I prefer death instead of life. Now, the world is without me because of my situation.” Visit the related web page
	View more stories