DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

A study by the African Child Policy Forum in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria and Senegal found that hitting, beating and forced hard work were the most prevalent forms of violence against girls, and that most of the physical violence experienced by girls was corporal punishment. The study involved a survey of 3,025 young women (nearly 600 per country) aged 18-24 about the violence they had experienced in their childhood. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 74% of respondents had been hit during their childhood, 83% had been beaten, 25% kicked, 48% denied food, 7% choked or burned and 29% forced to do hard work. Parents and close relatives were the most common perpetrators of physical violence.

(The African Child Policy Forum, 2010, Childhood Scars in Africa: A Retrospective Study on Violence Against Girls in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria and Senegal, Addis Ababa: The African Child Policy Forum)

According to statistics from UNICEF relating to the period 2001-2007, of girls and women aged 15-49, 76% think that a husband is justified in hitting or beating his wife under certain circumstances.

(UNICEF, 2009,  Progress for Children: A report card on child protection, NY: UNICEF
www.childinfo.org/files/Progress_for_Children-No.8_EN.pdf)