In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, record levels of violence against children are being recorded for the third year in a row according to the United National Monitoring and Reporting mechanism. The increase in violence against children has increased at an alarming rate as the proximity of armed groups to communities has increased the killing, maiming and abduction of children in the DRC. In fact, data shows that there has been a 41% increase in the number of verified grave violations against children in the beginning of 2023 in comparison to the same time last year. Child recruitment into armed groups has also spiked by 45% in 2023, as children - some as young as 5 years old - have been verified as recruited by armed groups. Sexual violence against children has also increased resulting in the DRC “recording the world’s highest levels of verified cases of sexual violence against children committed by armed forces and armed groups” in 2021 and 2021.
This drastic increase in violence has resulted in 1.5 million people being forced to flee for their lives in eastern DRC, forcing them to abandon their homes, livelihoods, communities and schooling. In total, 6.1 million people have been displaced according to data released in September 2023.
“In response to increasing violations and the urgent needs, UNICEF has provided more than 100,000 children with mental health and psychosocial support services and has assisted more than 6,300 survivors of gender-based violence since the beginning of the year. Despite that, UNICEF has received only 11 per cent of funds required for its child protection response under UNICEF’s emergency appeal in eastern DRC, meaning most needs are going unmet.”
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