Women Breaking the Silence
“We have chosen to speak out so that we can help each other to get back to our families and our lives... I know now that there is a network of activists all over the country. I am now a member, but until you speak up you cannot be heard. The solidarity from these groups helps a lot with the healing.” – Survivor
In 2008 in Goma, Bukavu, and Kinshasa, V-Day, UNICEF, and local groups on the ground worked together to organize the historic "Women Breaking the Silence” events at which survivors of sexual violence publicly spoke out about their rapes and the impact of violence on their lives. In front of Congolese authorities, United Nations representatives, Embassies to the DRC, activists, and members of civil society, women shared their stories and issued a call to the world to put an end to the sexual violence that has afflicted women and girls in the country. In Kinshasa, the women delivered over 4,000 letters to the First Lady Olive Lembe Kabila from worldwide V-Day activists.