ABSTRACT
This chapter continues the focus on international assistance in implementing the rule of law in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and examines issues related to access to justice for survivors of sexual violence crimes in North Kivu. It articulates the severance of international assistance to provide access to justice from gendered power relations embedded in sexual violence crimes. Instead of tackling the power relations, its main objective derives from a technical, legalistic perspective on sexual violence. In the case of the DRC, a Congolese women’s activist said that legal cases were seen as an opportunity by many women survivors to engage with state officials and international NGOs whom they requested to provide improved access to medical services and education. Another problem for female survivors, and for local communities in general, in accessing legal institutions is that of lack of economic resources.
