Endemic sex slavery
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The Democratic Republic of Congo is still suffering the effects of the war which devastated the country between 1998 and 2003.
The prevalence of sexual violence in the DRC has been described as the worst in the world, and recent NGO figures suggest that incidents of rape and sexual attacks on women are increasing, particularly in the country’s unstable east.
Two independent medical research studies have shown that around 40 percent of all women here have been subject to sexual violence some time in their lives.
The cycle of violence and conflict is such that the UN is testing a new style of peace keeping in the African nation. It deployed the first-ever peacekeeping force with an offensive combat mandate earlier in the year.