“When a woman is no longer silent, she is no longer alone in her struggle.”
Chantal Bilulu
Héritiers de la Justice in the Democratic Republic of Congo is making sure that women do not have to remain silent about sexual violence. This KAIROS partner organization is helping women to find their voices and training them to not only defend their own rights, but to become educators and advocates for peace and human rights within their communities.
Chantal trains and works with local women’s committees that Héritiers de la Justice (HJ) has created in rural areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). These groups organize workshops about women’s rights and about the Congolese law against sexual violence. Many women have come forward after workshops and for the first time broken their silence about experiencing sexual violence. Accompanying these women on their healing journeys is at the heart of HJ’s work.
Héritiers de la Justice works with these quarry workers to help them understand their human and labour rights.
With financial support from KAIROS, HJ operates a legal clinic that serves victims of sexual violence. It has helped to bring about numerous convictions for these offences, sending a strong signal that impunity for sexual violence must end.
GivingTuesday falls about half way through the annual 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign. During this time, HJ advocates with the Congolese government for justice for survivors of gender-based violence and for greater public awareness about the Congolese law against sexual violence. Raising the profile of this law not only leads to the prosecution of offenders, but helps to prevent such crimes by changing social attitudes and behaviors.
The Héritiers de la Justice office in Bukavu, DRC
The law against sexual violence has been in effect for almost ten years, but most Congolese are unaware of it. HJ has reached sections of the population through their village workshops, weekly radio programs and other creative public awareness campaigns, but they continue to urge the government to put resources into creating much greater awareness.
A donation to KAIROS this GivingTuesday will help to keep Héritiers de la Justice’s legal clinic operating and its life-changing training workshops happening. Please give generously!
