Foreign-aid cuts leave Congolese rape victims without treatment, aid groups say [Video]

Congolese rape survivors, including girls who have walked for days in search of help, are increasingly unable to get treatment because of severe cuts to foreign-aid funding, humanitarian agencies say.

Sexual violence in eastern Congo has surged this year, largely because of fighting led by the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel militia, but humanitarian groups say they are often unable to provide crucial help to the survivors.

Reported cases of sexual violence increased by 38 per cent in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the first four months of this year, compared with the same period last year, and more than 90 per cent of cases were in eastern Congo, United Nations agencies say.

Because of stigma and a reluctance to report, the true number of cases is believed to be much higher than the 67,000 cases of gender-based violence that were officially reported, the UN says.

International funding for humanitarian groups, including United Nations agencies, has suffered …