USAID addresses the immediate and long-term needs of sexual violence survivors, their families, and their communities in areas of eastern Congo that have been most affected by armed conflict. By funding efforts to work with local nongovernmental organizations and community- based organizations, USAID increases their capacity to provide holistic support to survivors including medical, psychosocial, and socio-reintegration services, while promoting judicial support and referral when appropriate. Most of these local organizations are headed by the survivors themselves who determine the community’s needs, design activities, and then monitor and evaluate progress.

Public awareness is an integral part of the work conducted by these programs. Each province has a “commission” for sexual violence that is made up of local and international groups working with USAID and other organizations implementing complementary activities. They coordinate their activities to raise public awareness, and to design approaches to condemn on-going violence and prevent future violence.