Priority Cases
Justine Masika Bihamba, Women's Rights Defender
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
 Justine Masika Bihamba © Private |
"When they got to my children, I was discouraged...We were all demoralized. But when I see the women come to me in search of hope, I say to myself, I must continue to struggle." ~ Justine
Human rights defenders working to end violence against women in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) do so in the face of grave threats of violence against themselves and their families. Justine Masika Bihamba is coordinator for Synergy of Women for Victims of Sexual Violence (Synergie des femmes contre les violence sexuelles), a women's human rights organization working in the DRC. Synergy provides services to help victims of sexual violence and has drawn attention to the increasing incidence of rape in the North Kivu region of the country. As a result of their work, Synergy counselors have been threatened and attacked. Because of her work, Justine and her family have been targeted.
In the early evening of September 18, 2007, six men, reportedly army soldiers, broke into Justine's house in Goma when she wasn't there. They tied up her six children at gunpoint, and assaulted two of them. Justine's 21-year-old daughter pleaded with the soldiers to take what they wanted but not to hurt anyone. One of the soldiers replied that they had not come to steal anything, but rather were on a "well-defined mission." The men searched the house. One solider kicked Justine's 24-year-old daughter in the face, breaking her tooth. He then sexually assaulted one of the daughters. When Justine returned home during the attack, the men fled. Justine and her children identified to the military police the soldiers involved in the attack, but the military police refused to arrest the men, claiming there was no evidence against them.
Nine days after the attack, Justine lodged a legal complaint against the soldiers. In the following weeks and months, senior military and civilian authorities promised that justice would be done, butmore than a year later, the suspects have still not been arrested or brought to trial.
Justine and her children have reportedly been threatened repeatedly by the men, whom they see in the streets around their home. Justine's five-year-old son now fears he will be killed whenever he sees a soldier. Her two daughters have fled abroad for their safety.
