INVESTIGATION OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN EASTERN DRC increased foot patrols at night or in areas off the main road. These pockets of good practice should be expanded across the mission, with support from increased numbers of civilian specialists and interpreters. 4. The Congolese government and its international partners should build on the legal/justice initiatives taken to date, particularly the law on sexual violence and the government’s announcement of “zero tolerance” for crimes against civilians by its armed forces. Although DRC boasts one of the most progressive laws on sexual violence in sub-Saharan Africa, low rates of criminal prosecution and a culture of impunity within the armed forces have helped to make rape horrifyingly commonplace across the country. The Congolese government and its international partners should reverse the prevailing impunity for crimes of sexual violence by: • Investigating and prosecuting high-level commanders within the FARDC and other armed groups who have allegedly condoned incidents of sexual violence perpetrated by their troops and/or perpetrated incidents themselves. The lack of accountability within the command and control structures of the FARDC allows combatants to continue to carry out grievous human rights abuses including sexual assault on civilian populations with few or no repercussions. o High-level commanders of all armed groups must be prosecuted, both for crimes they personally have committed and crimes for which they bear command responsibility, to end the present culture of impunity surrounding sexual violence and secure some measure of justice for the survivors. This will require a combination of necessary structural reforms to the military justice system and greater political will to combat impunity at high levels. o Complaints mechanisms must be put in place to enable civilians to safely report rape and other crimes committed by FARDC troops. o Security Sector Reform efforts in the DRC should focus on developing stronger justice and accountability institutions. • Improving access to justice for civilian crimes of sexual violence. Those responsible for upholding the law on sexual violence in DRC, such as the police, magistrates and lawyers, are few in number, poorly paid and poorly trained, and in addition are overwhelmingly male. For instance, South Kivu has only two female judges and six female police personnel in an area at the size of Rwanda and Burundi combined. Ignorance of the law on sexual violence, and even outright rejection of sections of law, by the judiciary is well documented. As long as application of the law continues to be the exception rather than the rule, it has little deterrent effect. Informal settlements are common, with rape survivors being forced to marry their assailants in exchange for payment of damages to the survivor’s family. Only a government-led drive on a massive scale – and with commensurate international support – to convey the message that the law will and must be upheld can hope to produce a clear impact, and must be a focus of lobby efforts. Additionally, the government must tackle negative attitudes within the law enforcement agencies and improve provision for practical implementation. Measures should include systematic training of officials, mass dissemination of the law and 55