Republic of the Congo. In this regard, she highlighted the following: sm SÉRAPHINE KILONGOZI MUSAMBI Deputy Representative of the NGO Action Contre L’Impunité pour les Droits Humains/ACIDH, Deputy Public Prosecutor at Kinshasa Kalamu Prosecutor’s Office and Coordinator of the specialised cells in the fight against sexual and gender-based violence at the Kalamu Prosecutor’s Office, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Accountability for sexual and gender-based violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Séraphine Kilongozi Musambi’s presentation focused on the challenges surrounding accountability for sexual and gender-based violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Her presentation drew on her experience as a human rights activist, a consultant who collects data on cases of mass rapes that took place in conflict areas in the DRC, as well as Public Prosecutor responsible for monitoring cases of sexual and gender-based violence recorded at her office. She began by providing some background to the scourge of sexual violence in DRC. She highlighted the role played by the media in bringing to light sexual and gender-based violence cases, which led to the involvement of various actors and, ultimately, to the amendment of laws related to sexual violence. She highlighted that specialised cells have been created in the fight against sexual and gender-based violence at all levels of the national jurisdictions following a circular issued by the Public Prosecutor’s Office. The cells have one objective: to handle cases of sexual violence expeditiously and responsibly. The PGI/Kalamu cell published statistics on data recorded at its level for the period 2006–2013. It also indicated that NGOs play a big role in collecting data that enable matters to be referred to regional human rights mechanisms. She then turned to some challenges associated with justice for sexual violence in the Democratic • Judges and magistrates who deal with sexual violence cases experience challenges due to the lack of medical certificates in most cases, which hinder both the determination of proof and the medical assistance of victims. Access to justice for victims in rural areas is difficult due to the remoteness of defendants, cultural attitudes, the lack of financial resources, the cumbersome justice system, the fear of retaliation, the lack of confidence in the justice system and the perpetuation of rape culture through magicalmystical beliefs. • Circuit court or mobile court hearings (courts that move to where the victims are) are hamstrung by inadequate financing. The provision of security and transport of detainees, victims and magistrates to the courts especially when those crimes were committed in remote areas is especially costly. This substantial cost has an impact on the number of mobile courts that can be instituted. • A further challenge relates to the protection of the anonymity of the victim, which is difficult in the context of open-door mobile court sessions. This is particularly important for avoiding marginalisation of the victim. • Access to justice for victims in rural areas is difficult due to the remoteness of defendants (both perpetrators and victims, the distance between houses and police stations), cultural attitudes, the lack of financial resources, the cumbersome justice system, the fear of retaliation, the lack of confidence in the justice system and the perpetuation of rape culture through magical-mystical beliefs. • She further highlighted that, in areas not affected by armed conflict, cases of rape are often dealt with through amicable settlements between the parties at judicial level (especially in cash or kind) in order to close the cases. PANEL 2: Case studies on accountability for sexual and gender-based violence in conflict /9