V-DAY

STOP RAPING OUR GREATEST RESOURCE: POWER TO THE WOMEN AND GIRLS OF DRC is a five-year global campaign of V-Day and UNICEF - in conjunction with DRC-based local women’s groups on the ground - that began in 2007.   The campaign seeks to:

-Increase pressure at all levels – international, national and local – to STOP RAPE IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO, while highlighting the role of women as activists.
-Expose the devastating impact of rape on Congolese women’s health, their families and their communities
-Call for specific measures to end impunity for perpetrators
-Economically and socially empower women and girls to lead in the prevention of sexual violence and in the rebuilding of a country devastated by conflict
-Build and open the City of Joy in conjunction with PANZI Hospital and Dr. Mukwege, a center where survivors will be provided with support to heal and training to further develop their leadership and life skills.
 
“What we’re seeing in the DRC is a war being enacted on the bodies of women that is conscious and intentional - it is the systematic destruction of the female population of the Congo.  But after three trips to the Congo in the last eighteen months, I have seen the spirit and strength of the Congolese women translated into a burgeoning movement which is turning pain to power.” – Eve Ensler