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Sexual violence has exploded in DRC and is being used as a weapon of war in the East. As a baseline, DRC is 186th out of 187 countries in the UN's Human Development Index. Up to 52% of women in DRC are survivors of domestic violence and 39% of Congolese women report having being threatened or injured. (https://africa.unwomen.org/en/where-we-are/west-and-central-africa/democratic-republic-of-congo) Nearly one in three children in DRC is affected by child marriage and 15% of children aged between 5 and 17 are involved in child labour. https://www.unicef.org/drcongo/en/what-we-do/child-protection
There is abundant evidence globally that emergencies such as conflict and natural disasters lead to a spike in rates of gender-based violence. With the recent escalation of conflict in eastern DRC and the capture of Bukavu and Goma, the UNHCR had 895 cases of rape reported to them in just 2 weeks in February - an average of more than 60 a day. https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/03/1160746.
Since then, 45% of the 10,000 rapes reported in February and March have been of children. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/4/11/child-sexual-violence-rates-rise-in-first-two-months-of-2025-in-drc-un
My heart hurts. So I'm going to run till my feet and my legs and my lungs hurt. For people who know me well, I'm a bit of a fairweather exercise girl. Though I cycled over mountains in my twenties, I didn't do anything for the entirety of my thirties. I began running casually in 2020 and set myself a target to run 10km later this year. Well, I'm bringing that forward. On Monday 5th May as part of Guernsey's World Aid Walk, I've signed up to walk 20km, but I'm going to run the first 10km. And I'd like to do it to raise money for the Panzi Foundation. If I'm successful to hit my target, I'll sign up for the half marathon in October to further my fundraising. Oh yes. (Oh shit!)
Why DRC? DRC is a country I love, and where I, my company I founded, and dedicated partners have worked consistently since 2004.
Why this issue? Each of these individual acts of violence is appalling. But their legacies extend beyond individuals; intergenerational trauma adversely impacts on future generations' ability to thrive and prosper too. I believe that by helping victims identify as survivors, and heal to the extent possible, we can help this incredible nation to thrive.
100% of the money you donate through this platform will go to the Panzi Foundation for the amazing work they do with survivors of sexual violence in DRC. https://panzifoundation.org/