Survivors in Congo Break the Cycle of Sexual Violence and Access SRH by Creating an Alternative Value Chain: Buying and Crafting Jewelry from Conflict-Free Gold

In DRC, GBV and its harmful health consequences are linked to the battle for control of mineral wealth. Sexual violence has become a wartactic used to control mines and smuggling routes. Women working in mines are brutally exploited. Survivors of wartime rape and exploitation face life-threatening injuries, diseases, and trauma. For many, social stigma & financial insecurity bars them from accessing much needed SRH services, driving a cycle of dependence and exploitation that is hard to escape.