INVESTIGATION OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN EASTERN DRC IMPACT ON CHILDREN Many children are affected by the sexual violence in South Kivu. First, there are children who are themselves survivors of rape (in the current study approximately 6% of survivors were under the age of 16). Second, there are children who have experienced sexual violence secondhand by witnessing the rape of their mothers and / or other family members. While this study could not quantify the number of children who had witnessed sexual violence, the qualitative analysis suggests that it may be a significant number, particularly since many of the assaults happened in the family home at night when children would have likely been present. Third, there are children who were conceived and born out of rape. Given that abortion is illegal in DRC and that adoption is rare, many of the women who become pregnant as a result of sexual assault are likely forced to bear these children. Children born out of rape are often highly stigmatized by the community because they are viewed as offspring of the enemy. In some instances, these children are abandoned because they were conceived from rape (little is known about infanticide in South Kivu). Fourth, there are children who have endured the separation of their families most often because their mothers were abandoned following sexual violence. And finally, there are children who have lost parents or other family members as a result of the sexual violence in South Kivu. In the worst of these cases, children may have even witnessed the horrific murder of their loved ones. Additionally, many children are displaced from their homes as a result of sexual violence and some of these children live at Panzi Hospital for extended periods of time while their mothers receive care for rape-related injuries. Enrolling these children in school, while being extremely important from an educational standpoint, would also be beneficial in helping re-integrate them into society. These issues of re-integration are complex and very pressing in Eastern DRC. 45