According to a United Nations report cited by Reuters, over 260 female prisoners were sexually assaulted during a mass escape from the central prison in the Democratic Republic of Congo earlier this month.
Previously, Reuters had reported that 129 prisoners were killed during the escape from the prison.
On Thursday, September 12, Reuters quoted an internal UN report stating that 268 out of 348 female prisoners in the central prison in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, were sexually assaulted, including raped, during the chaos of the mass escape 11 days ago.
Earlier, the Congolese government had announced that at least 129 prisoners were killed during the escape on September 2, and some female prisoners were sexually assaulted. However, the government did not provide specific figures regarding the sexual assault victims.
A female prisoner told Reuters that during the chaos of the escape, several male prisoners attacked the women’s section of the prison and even raped elderly women. She stated that multiple male prisoners had assaulted her.
Meanwhile, the UN report also noted that 17 of the victims were under the age of 19.
This tragic event has highlighted the severe security failures within the prison system of the Democratic Republic of Congo, exacerbating concerns about the treatment of vulnerable inmates, particularly women.
The mass prison escape in the DRC underscores critical security failures, resulting in widespread violence against female inmates.
The scale of violence and sexual assault during this incident has drawn international condemnation, prompting calls for urgent reforms and stronger protections for female prisoners in conflict-ridden regions like the DRC.
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