Reply #15: DR Congo's shameful sex secret

[DulceDecorum]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3769469.stm

Thousands of impoverished Congolese who have been displaced by the conflict live in camps that are situated next to MONUC bases for protection. They fear attacks by armed militias that operate in the area and are afraid to leave the camps to return to their villages and farms. Last year, allegations emerged that UN peacekeepers were sexually exploiting Congolese living in the nearby camps. MONUC personnel are accused of engaging in prostitution, rape, molestation, and pedophilia.
Unfortunately, many women and children in the camps find themselves living alone or in situations where their families cannot provide for them. Some of them resorted to “survival sex” with MONUC personnel. The peacekeepers sexually exploited Congolese girls as young as 11 years of age in exchange for small amounts of money and scraps of food. Local boys were used as “pimps” who arranged the sexual misconduct, also in return for food or money.
http://www.globalsolutions.org/programs/peace_security/facts_reports/abuse_in_congo.html