Congo

About 48 women are raped every hour in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to a new study.

The study, due to be published in the American Journal of Public Health in June, found sexual abuse rampant not only in conflict areas but in the home, with nearly one woman a minute subjected to some form of sexual abuse.

The DRC has been racked by conflict, with rapes widely documented in the conflict-heavy east of the country. However, the study suggests the problem is bigger and more pervasive than previously thought, and goes further in documenting domestic sexual abuse.

It finds 1,152 women are raped every day – a rate equal to 48 per hour. That rate is 26 times more than the previous estimate of 16,000 rapes reported in one year by the United Nations.

Guardian. | Al Jazeera.