The war in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has been the subject of numerous studies related to the problem of sexual violence. Such violence is known to be part of strategic war plans to conquer and destroy communities, but it is now unfortunately prevalent in times of relative calm.
The authors of this article describe the characteristics and consequences of sexual violence in Ituri province of through the retrospective analysis of 2,565 patients who received medical care in the Médecins Sans Frontières clinic in the capital of the province, Bunia, between September 2005 and December 2006.