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UN PhotoUNICEF / DRC CHILDREN SEXUAL VIOLENCE
STORY: UNICEF / DRC CHILDREN SEXUAL VIOLENCE
TRT: 3:45
SOURCE: UNICEF
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT UNICEF ON SCREEN / EMBARGO TILL 8:01PM EST MONDAY 29 DECEMBER, 2025
LANGUAGE: KIHEMA / LINGALA / FRENCH / NATS
DATELINE: PLEASE CHECK SHOTLIST FOR DETAILS
26 NOVEMBER 2025, ITURI PROVINCE, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
1. Med shot, a village in Ituri province, DR Congo, three survivors holding hands and singing together
2. Med shot, Jokaï Logoï, a para-social worker, facilitating a group therapy session at a UNICEF-supported Child-Friendly Space. At the Child-Friendly Space, survivors gather in a safe and supportive environment. Holding hands, they sing together, breaking the silence and rebuilding trust through shared moments. Guided by trained para-social workers from Help Child, a UNICEF partener, group therapy sessions offer space to speak, to listen, and to heal
3. Med shot, Help Child facilitators leading a group therapy session at the Child-Friendly Space
4. Med shot, facilitators conducting a group therapy session
5. Med shot, facilitators conducting a group therapy session
6. Med shot, Héritier Maki facilitating the discussion with participants
7. Med shot, Survivors listening attentively during the group therapy session led by Héritier Maki
8. Close up, Survivors listening attentively during the group therapy session led by Héritier Maki
9. Close up, Survivors listening attentively during the group therapy session led by Héritier Maki
10. Close up, Survivors listening attentively during the group therapy session led by Héritier Maki
12 DECEMBER 2025, KINSHASA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
11. Wide shot, wall drawings at the entrance of the Toyokana Safe Space. “Toyokana” is a Lingala word meaning “Let’s listen to one another.” These spaces supported by UNICEF aim to prevent and respond to sexual violence while offering psychosocial support, counselling, legal support and a range of trainings that strengthen the resilience, skills and economic empowerment of adolescent girls and young women
12. Wide shot, Nana Kimbwanga, social worker, facilitating a group therapy session with girls affected by gender-based violence and sexual violence
13. Med shot, Survivors listening during the session
14. Med shot, Georgette Suyuma, supervisor, raising awareness among girls on digital violence
15. Med shot, Survivors listening during the session
16. SOUNDBITE (French) Georgette Suyuma, supervisor, Toyokana Safe Space, Kinshasa, DR Congo:
“I am the head of the office in charge of social action at the Urban Division of Social Affairs. At the Toyokana Space, I serve as supervisor. The Toyokana Space is a facility set up by the Urban Division, together with our partner UNICEF, to fight against gender-based violence. In any case, the impact I observe from this space is that it has greatly helped young girls, particularly in dealing with the situations they face. As I mentioned, it is a space reserved exclusively for girls.”
17. Wide shot, Agnès*, (name changed) arriving home after leaving the Amour Plus Safe Space, a UNICEF partner. Safe Spaces offer privacy, counselling, life-skills sessions and referral services to survivors of sexual violence, while facilitating social reintegration and building a community of women and girls
18. Med shot, Agnès* sewing clothes at home with her children nearby
19. Med shot, Agnès*’s child trying on a skirt at home
20. Med shot, Agnès*’s child trying on a skirt at home
21. Close up, Agnès* sewing clothes at home with her children nearby
22. Med shot, Agnès* sewing clothes at home with her children nearby
23. Wide shot, Agnès* sewing clothes at home with her children nearby
Sexual violence against children is endemic, systemic, and worsening across the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to a new UNICEF report released today (30 Dec). While conflict remains a major driver, the report shows cases documented in communities across every province and rising sharply since 2022.
As shown in the report, nationwide data compiled by protection and gender-based violence service providers indicate that more than 35,000 cases of sexual violence against children were recorded nationwide in the first nine months of 2025, pointing to a crisis that continues to escalate. In 2024, nearly 45,000 cases against children were recorded, accounting for almost 40 per cent of all reported sexual violence cases – three times higher than in 2022.
UNICEF, along with the government and partners, is working to reach children through survivor-centred services, including clinical care, psychosocial support, safe spaces, and case management. Between 2022 and 2024, the number of child survivors assisted by UNICEF rose by 143 per cent, reaching more than 24,200 children across the most affected provinces in 2024.
However, insecurity and global funding cuts have forced many UNICEF-supported safe spaces, mobile clinics, and community-based protection programmes to scale back or close. By mid-2025, only 23 per cent of gender-based violence interventions were funded – down from 48 per cent in 2022 – putting hundreds of thousands of children, including 300,000 in conflict-affected eastern regions, at risk of losing access to life-saving support.
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