Sexual violence

As medical teams in the South Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo respond to yet another incident of mass rape in the region, Operations Manager Katrien Coppens explains how ordinary people in the conflict-ridden east of the country are being targeted. September 2009. Pierrette does not know her exact age, but she shyly suggests 'around 15.' She was kidnapped by armed men, and held captive for two months. She became what is known as a 'forced wife,' given to a man to spend nights with him. Photo: Julie Remy An MSF team has treated more than a hundred women in the Fizi region of South Kivu after a recent mass rape... Yes, we sent a team of medical staff with...

Every month, thousands of economic migrants flee Zimbabwe and cross the border into South Africa in search of a better life. However, many become victims of rapists and robbers waiting on the border. Medical workers say they have seen an average of 15 abused women and girls a week since the beginning of the year.  With most cases going unreported due to fear, it is impossible to know the exact number. But with unemployment in Zimbabwe at 90 per cent, desperation will keep driving people to make the journey, no matter how treacherous it may be. Al Jazeera's Haru Mutasa reports from the town of Musina in South Africa.

In Papua New Guinea, nearly 70 percent of women say they've been physically abused by their husbands, and in some parts of the country that number reaches 100 percent, according to the PNG Law Reform Commission. When this kind of violence is so widespread, what kind of a difference can a small MSF project make?

Surviving Rape: An Integrated Service for Rape in Khayelitsha, South Africa