For Jessica, this particular marriage proposition wasn't made in heaven.
At 16, Jessica was raped. Not by government soldiers, rebels or UN peacekeepers - the most high profile groups of perpetrators - but by a District Chief. In 2004, an estimated 13% of all rapes were committed by civilians, but the impunity of soliders, rebels and peacekeepers is being linked to an increase in the proportion of sexual violence committed by civilians. In 2007, the estimate had risen to 40% of rapes being committed by civilians (Institute of War and Peace Reporting, 2008).
Worse still for Jessica, she fell pregnant. For reasons we don't know - perhaps fear of an unwanted pregnancy, perhaps the stigmatisation, perhaps under the duress of the District Chief - she sought an abortion.
Abortion remains illegal in DRC, despite the incidence of unwanted pregnancy, the risk of mother-child transmission of HIV, and the prevalence of sexual violence. (According to a recent survey by the International Centre for Transitional Justice, the University of California, Berkeley's Human Rights Centre and Tulane University's Payson Centre, 16% of of those surveyed in North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri have been sexually violated, and almost 12% raped multiple times.)
Broadly speaking there are three options: seek an illegal 'backstreet' abortion which uses a medical procedure; abort the foetus or induce a miscarriage using local practices such as drinking herbal concoctions, laundry detergent, bleach or gasoline; or invoke the exception to the law. Abortion is illegal except when a doctor considers that the pregnancy could be fatal for the mother. Mothers therefore often self-harm to the point where doctors are compelled to act.
At 16, Jessica was raped. Not by government soldiers, rebels or UN peacekeepers - the most high profile groups of perpetrators - but by a District Chief. In 2004, an estimated 13% of all rapes were committed by civilians, but the impunity of soliders, rebels and peacekeepers is being linked to an increase in the proportion of sexual violence committed by civilians. In 2007, the estimate had risen to 40% of rapes being committed by civilians (Institute of War and Peace Reporting, 2008).
Worse still for Jessica, she fell pregnant. For reasons we don't know - perhaps fear of an unwanted pregnancy, perhaps the stigmatisation, perhaps under the duress of the District Chief - she sought an abortion.
Abortion remains illegal in DRC, despite the incidence of unwanted pregnancy, the risk of mother-child transmission of HIV, and the prevalence of sexual violence. (According to a recent survey by the International Centre for Transitional Justice, the University of California, Berkeley's Human Rights Centre and Tulane University's Payson Centre, 16% of of those surveyed in North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri have been sexually violated, and almost 12% raped multiple times.)
Broadly speaking there are three options: seek an illegal 'backstreet' abortion which uses a medical procedure; abort the foetus or induce a miscarriage using local practices such as drinking herbal concoctions, laundry detergent, bleach or gasoline; or invoke the exception to the law. Abortion is illegal except when a doctor considers that the pregnancy could be fatal for the mother. Mothers therefore often self-harm to the point where doctors are compelled to act.
It took Jessica several weeks to recover from the abortion. In the meantime, there were several developments. The rape was reported to the local police and a case filed. On the face of it, this seems promising given the District Chief's stature. Furthermore, since 2006 rape laws in DRC have been strengthened. The law now includes forced prostitution, sexual mutilation, forced marriage, sexual harassment and slavery, HIV transmission and forced pregnancy; cases must go to court within 3 months; victims have a right to see doctors and psychologists and to have a closed trial if they wish; and soldiers can be arrested without the permission of their unit commanders.
However, the practical reality of getting justice is very different. 6 months on the case has not been heard due to a backlog of cases and staff shortages. Out-of-court settlements are instead the norm.
The District Chief offered to take Jessica as his second wife. For Jessica's family this seemed a pragmatic solution to the problem: Jessica was now unlikely to marry because she had had sex outside of marriage, and worst still, an abortion.
Fortunately for Jessica, an alternative was agreed. The District Chief gave Jessica's family 2 goats and 10,000 Congolese Francs (c.$17). This bears remarkable parallels to the findings of a recent report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the African Great Lakes which found that "men have been known to set aside a couple of goats as compensation before even raping the girl".
Now 17, Jessica is trying to rebuild her life, 140km away...
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