Compensation for victims of sexual violence in Congolese law

Although the enactment of laws on sexual violence deserves to be evaluated as a good step forward in the fight against sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, we note that the rigor with which the 2006 legislator considers the criminal procedure and the criminal sanctions that may follow in matters of sexual violence is not the same as regards the victim's main right, namely compensation.

This compensation must in principle be paid by the perpetrator of the offence by virtue of the principle of responsibility provided for in article 258 of the CCLIII.19 We note that the protection of victims through compensation does not seem to be considered by the judge in the sense that the reparation of D.I. can only be pronounced in criminal matters as an accessory to the main sentence.

The judge limits himself to pronouncing the judgment and sentencing the guilty party, but the victim's interest is not only to see the perpetrator of the crime sentenced but also, and above all, to see his rights restored.