A Friday action: The War Against Women in Congo

I'm sure we're all looking forward to the weekend, but join me in taking a few minutes to support the work to raise awareness about the plight of women in Congo. The statistics recently released about the rate of rape in Congo are heartbreaking.  You can read the actual study, or this report about it in the NY Times.  

The summation from the NY Times article:

"The study’s authors believe the rape problem may be worse than their study suggests. The findings are based on survey results from females of reproductive age, but many reports and witness accounts have shown that armed men often gang-rape young girls — some even toddlers — and women in their 70s and older, in addition to a growing number of men and boys. Also, many rape victims never report being assaulted because of the shame and stigma. In Congo, countless women have been abandoned by their husbands after being raped.

“There are two big surprises in the study,” said Anthony Gambino, mission director for Congo of the United States Agency for International Development in 2001-4. “First, the magnitude of the problem — rates of rape that are much higher than seen elsewhere. And, second, that these alarming, shockingly high rape statistics are found in western Congo as well as northern and eastern Congo.”

Scientists and aid workers have struggled to pinpoint exactly why so many women are raped in Congo. Mr. Gambino says it may be related to nearly 40 years of “steady economic and political decline,” which has meant that the government’s presence has essentially disappeared from many areas of Congo."

Now, please go to the webpage for A Thousand Sisters and take action. They have a great list of actions to chose from.

Finally this is a link to the facebook page where you can take a creative action pushing the Obama administration to appoint a Special Envoy to Congo.  The envoy will make a difference, but our government has to know we expect them to appoint one.  Your action=your voice!

We'd love to know you took action.  Send a note in the comments.