A campaign to combat gender violence is under way in South Kivu, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a province that has become notorious for the high incidence of rape and other sexual violations.

Activities ranging from conferences to marches have been taking place since 23 November to educate victims and the rest of the population under the theme: Stop the rape of our most precious resource: Power to women and girls in the DRC. The campaign is part of a global drive running from the UN’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on 25 November to Human Rights Day on 10 December.

Panzi General Hospital in Bukavu, South Kivu's capital, admits at least 10 victims of sexual assault daily, an average of 3,600 cases a year, according to Denis Mukwege Mukengere, director of the hospital.

An estimated 16,000 victims of rape, some suffering from obstetric fistula, have been treated at the hospital since 2000. Olive Lembe, the wife of President Joseph Kabila, inaugurated a website dubbed ‘cité de la joie' [site of joy] in the hospital. The website is an initiative of the founder of the NGO, V-Day, Eve Ensler, aimed at involving victims of sexual violence in the fight against the crime.

Many more cases of sexual assault are likely to be unreported, considering the social stigma attached to rape and the fear of family rejection. Other sexual crimes are committed in remote areas where there are no medical services or victims are unable to seek help because of insecurity.

The campaign aims to sensitise the Congolese people to the status of women and girls under the country's laws, according to the head of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in South Kivu, Danielle Keulen.

"Right now, a number of cases remain unattended because of inaccessibility of some areas and poor legal response," she said. She said UNICEF hoped that the campaign would make people aware of the problem and adopt an attitude of zero-tolerance towards perpetrators of sexual violence in the DRC.

"Action should be taken against these barbaric acts committed against women and girls which affect the whole society," Keulen said.

At a workshop to discuss the problem, representatives from the government, international organisations, the army and police signed a commitment to fight the culture of impunity for perpetrators of sexual violence.

In September, Stephen Lewis, former UN special envoy for AIDS in Africa, urged the international community to take swift action to eliminate rampant sexual violence in eastern DRC.

"The contagion of sexual violence on the African continent is blood-chilling, and nowhere more so than in the eastern DRC," Lewis told media in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, on 13 September. "Despite this, there seems to be unwillingness among the international community to take action."

In July, Yakin Erturk, special rapporteur of the UN Human Rights Council on Violence against Women, said an estimated 4,500 cases of rape had been reported in South Kivu in the first six months of 2007 alone, with many more going unreported. She noted that sexual violence was perceived as “normal” by local communities.

War broke out in the DRC in 1998, and although the country held successful national elections in 2006, various militia groups continue to terrorise civilians in many areas of the east.