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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><A
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<DIV>Rape So Common In D.R.C., It Is Considered Combat Injury<BR title=br><BR
title=br><I>Monday, October 27, 2003</I><BR title=br><BR title=br><FONT
class=body>
<P>Gang rape has been so systematic and brutal in the Democratic Republic of the
Congo that doctors in the country are now classifying vaginal destruction as a
crime of combat, the <A
href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A14059-2003Oct24.html"><EM>Washington
Post</EM></A> reported Saturday.<BR><BR>Exceedingly violent rapes of girls,
adult and even elderly women — the young soldiers responsible for most of
the misery have used guns and branches to violate women in some
cases — have resulted in numerous cases of vaginal fistula, in which
tears in the tissue of the vagina, bladder and rectum leave women
unable to control their bodily functions. A condition that typically
afflicts very young brides who are too small to give birth, vaginal fistula
often leaves women foul-smelling and rejected by their husbands and
society.<BR><EMAILBREAK /><BR>"There are thousands of violated ladies showing
up. It's like nothing we have ever seen anywhere in the world," said Jo
Lusi, who heads a D.R.C.-run hospital in the eastern city of Goma, where UNICEF
is building a special ward for victims of vaginal fistula. "We are here
repairing an organ that is so important to women and to our country and to our
dignity."<BR><BR>Doctors say hundreds of women have arrived in D.R.C. cities for
operations to repair the damage, paid for by international donors. Most
patients have to undergo three or four surgeries, each requiring 21 days of bed
rest. For every victim of vaginal fistula who comes to a city hospital,
however, doctors estimate that as many as 30 women could be going to village
clinics with the condition, because the journey through the country's interior
can be long and difficult.<BR><BR>In D.R.C., where some aid groups estimate that
one in every three women has been raped, women have launched protests against
rape. In March, hundreds of women reportedly stripped naked in the center
of Goma and told the male onlookers, "If you are going to rape us, rape us now,
because this must stop today." Among other things, the women were
demanding care for victims of fistula (Emily Wax, <EM>Washington Post</EM>, Oct.
25).</P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>