Emma Smith Cain, MA discusses Samaritan's Purse's effort to address violence against women and the massive number of rapes that occur every day in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

1. Addressing Gender-Based Violence through Church-
Based Interventions and Protection Committees in
eastern DR Congo
A Lasting Change:
Presented by:
Emma Smith Cain, former Protection Program Manager in DRC

2. • S A M A R I T A N ’ S P U R S E ®
Some facts about being a woman in DR Congo:
1. An estimated 1,150 women are raped every day, an equivalent to 48 women
raped every hour or four women raped every five minutes.
2. Women have a 1 in 23 lifetime risk of dying during childbirth.
3. DRC ranks second to last on the Mothers’ Index as the worst place to be a
mother.
4. 2.5 million girls have never been to school (compared to 1.8 million boys)
5. 72.4% of men and women report that a woman must accept violence for the
sake of her family.
DRC: the worst place to be a woman?

3. • S A M A R I T A N ’ S P U R S E ®
“We women are born inferior to men. The Bible says so – and our
culture confirms it.”
“Man was made in the image of God; woman in the image of man.”
• While women make up the majority of faithful church attendees, they
are rarely allowed to serve in leadership roles or to speak publicly.
• Rape survivors often receive a lifetime ban from partaking in holy
communion.
• Pastors regularly preach that women’s bodies belong to their
husbands and that they are to obey them at all costs.
• Unmarried pregnant teenagers are prohibited from attending church
services.
The Church & GBV

4. • S A M A R I T A N ’ S P U R S E ®
1. Conferences and follow-up support for Pastors and
Church Leaders
2. Formation and Training of Protection Committees
(“MWANGA Groups”)
3. Male Engagement through the “Watetezi” model
4. Sensitization of Children and Youth
Programmatic Response: “Project Ope Afinu”
G E N D E R & H U M A N I T A R I A N P R O G R A M M I N G

5. • S A M A R I T A N ’ S P U R S E ®
• Still Side by Side, published by CBE International, available in many
languages including French and Kiswahili
• Hand in Hand: Bible Studies to Transform Our Response to Sexual
Violence, developed and published by Tearfund
• Healing the Wounds of Trauma, developed and published by the
American Bible Society
• By His Wounds: Trauma Healing for Africa, developed and published
by Mending the Soul Ministries
• Reverend Domnic Misolo, Founder of the Ekklesia Foundation for
Gender Education in Bondo, Kenya
Key Resources

6. • S A M A R I T A N ’ S P U R S E ®
Due to the interventions planned by Project Ope Afinu in 2016:
• The % of men in the local communities who agreed that
women have the right to refuse sex from their husbands rose
from 28.5% to 50.19%.
• The % of women in the community who said they would feel
comfortable approaching the church for help if faced with an
instance of GBV rose from 81.02% to 90.65%.
• The 90 church leaders who were selected and trained in turn
reached 7,687 individuals (M: 2926, F: 4761).
Year 1 Key Results

7. • S A M A R I T A N ’ S P U R S E ®
• The 30 Watetezi reached 1,098 men and boys with messages
about gender equality.
• The 86 individuals (M: 43; F: 43) elected by a community vote
to serve on the MWANGA Groups assisted 46 women as they
sought medical, legal, and spiritual support following a
protection incident.
• 3,241 children and youth (M: 1497, F: 1744) benefitted from
sensitization on biblical gender equality.
Year 1 Key Results Continued

8. • S A M A R I T A N ’ S P U R S E ®
• Insecurity – for both the implementing team and the
beneficiaries/participants in the programming
• Deeply-engrained beliefs – behavior and heart change cannot
happen over night
• Design issues – many resources were invested in behavior
change communication for men but not for women, leading to
some spousal and community disputes
• High volume of protection incidents with limited resources
available for survivor support
• Initial resistance from the Protection Cluster and other
protection actors
Key Challenges & Obstacles to Effective Implementation

9. • S A M A R I T A N ’ S P U R S E ®
• Restructuring of the MWANGA Groups
• Expansion of the Watetezi program
• Dedicated neutral spaces and increased resources for survivor
care
• More resources directed towards child and youth engagement,
specifically on issues relating to gender equality, early sexual
debut, HIV/AIDS, and pornography.
Year 2: Responding to the Challenges

10. • S A M A R I T A N ’ S P U R S E ®
Since violence against women is a universal issue, biblical
gender equality training for pastors and church leaders and the
formation of church-based protection committees is relevant in
nearly all programmatic contexts, including:
• Combatting human trafficking
• Advocating for girls education
• Holistic care for single mothers
• Care for child soldiers/children formerly associated with
armed groups
Future Applications

11. Questions/Discussion
Presented by:
Emma Smith Cain: former Protection Program Manager in DRC