Uncertainty, Pain, and Death: What Women in the DRC Face as they Confront the Advance of M23

Hundreds of thousands have fled the escalating conflict in Goma in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since the beginning of 2025. (Flickr)

The United Nations reports that following a massive prison outbreak in the city of Goma in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on January 27, 2025, more than 165 women have been raped. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, stated that after the rape, the female victims died in a fire—though the exact circumstances are still unclear.

The prison break in Goma is part of a wider conflict in the region. Rwandan-backed rebel group, M23, has been seizing territory across Eastern DRC in what some experts view as an attempt to gain access to critical mineral stores. The politics of the countries and actors involved wreaks havoc in the lives of citizens, more than 500,000 of whom have been displaced since the beginning of the year. Vulnerable groups, including women and children, often bear the brunt of the violence.

Sexual violence is prevalent in the conflict in the DRC. Doctors Without Borders treated more than 25,000 survivors of sexual violence in 2023. The UN reports that instances of sexual violence increase with armed conflict in the DRC.

The U.N.’s deputy representative in Congo, Vivian van de Perre, said that the rapidly escalating violence in Goma will be negatively impacted by the U.S. pause on foreign aid. This aid supports life-saving humanitarian efforts including food provision, HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, emergency response, as well as important services for survivors of sexual violence. It is unclear whether ‘lifesaving aid’—the only foreign assistance being granted waivers under the new Trump Administration—will include services for women vulnerable to conflict.

Türk called on “All those with influence must act urgently to put an end to this tragic situation.” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with DRC President Félix Tshisekedi on January 27, 2025, and condemned M23’s assault on Goma. However, the uncertainty of U.S. Foreign Assistance and USAID imperils lives in DRC and risks wider regional instability as the M23 continues its advance.