By RFIPalled on 11-08-2019Modified on 11-08-2019 at 05:35

Through its program at the Bangui Community Hospital, MSF is helping victims of sexual violence. The NGO supports an average of 300 people per month. Cases increased by 40% since the beginning of the year because of the strengthening of its activities, but also the non-settlement of the conflict.

Behind a door in the shelter of the noisy community hospital is Tongolo, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) 's Sexual Abuse Program . Of the victims of sexual violence, 40% are minors.

This mom comes for the follow up of her 13 year old daughter. She was raped a few weeks ago in the neighborhood. Despite the fear of stigma, she decided to take her to the hospital. " I decided to come to see my daughter, " she says. After what happened, if I did not come here to the hospital she might die. Because she is not yet old enough to have sex and so I decided to come to know what to do to save the child. "

MSF provides medical, but also psychological follow-up of people who come forward. A free medical certificate is given to allow prosecution. But if the needs are enormous, few actors work in this sector, explains Beatriz Garci Fernandez, the coordinator of the project. " There is a great lack of actors working on protection, " she says. Protection means shelter, transit houses ... There is a lot of aggression taking place at home, sometimes even among family members. Sometimes minors who have been attacked sleep in the same room as the attacker. "

#CARcrisis - "I wanted to commit suicide and was ashamed to walk in the street, as if everyone was watching me," says a survivor of sexual violence in Bangui. Since the beginning of 2019, more than 2,000 survivors have been treated and accompanied by MSF Bangui. https://t.co/2dKPN6t3T1 pic.twitter.com/Vjp8iew3bN

MSF Western & Central Africa (@MSF_WestAfrica) July 31, 2019

Violence sometimes from armed groups

Among the reasons that explain these numerous rapes, the particular conflict that made these practices common and the feeling of impunity.

A small minority of these victims, often forgotten, are men. They represent 5% of the people supported by MSF in Bangui. This is the case of this man who has suffered sexual violence from men of armed groups. " They came and found us in a cafeteria," he says. There were two of us with my sister's son. They took us. They started beating us in front of the cafeteria. And one of them took off his pants, then put his cock in my mouth. They hit me until I fainted. What happened to me happened to my nephew. But he refused to suck the man's sex and they broke his arm. I feel bad at night, my eyes hurt and I have trouble sleeping. What happened to me, I can not hide it, you have to openly denounce it. It's not only me, there are many other people who are victims of these treatments, but they do not have the courage to denounce them. "

    On the same subject

    RCA: In Bangui, a unit helps fight against violence against women

    Paul Brockmann (MSF): increase of "consultations for sexual violence in CAR"

    comments