République Centrafricaine / Central African Republic — Nanette poses for a portrait in Bangui, CAR, on 11th December 2020. She went to investigate violence in her hometown in 2014. There, she saw pigs eating corpses, and the bodies of her parents in a river. She kept taking notes and images, knowing it was important to document this. When she was surrounded by a group of men, she was overpowered and they raped her. Nanette’s association, National Association for the Support of Free Women and Girls (ANAP) does social and economic reinsertion for survivors, as well as offers psycho-social support and eases the reference to MSF’s Tongolo centre. Compiling the testimonies and files of the survivors, Nanette also follows their cases with the Human Rights and justice organisations active in the Central African Republic.

Invisible Wounds: MSF findings on sexual violence in CAR between 2018 and 2022

Nanette poses for a portrait in Bangui, CAR, on 11th December 2020. She went to investigate violence in her hometown in 2014. There, she saw pigs eating corpses, and the bodies of her parents in a river. She kept taking notes and images, knowing it was important to document this. When she was surrounded by a group of men, she was overpowered and they raped her. Nanette’s association, National Association for the Support of Free Women and Girls (ANAP) does social and economic reinsertion for survivors, as well as offers psycho-social support and eases the reference to MSF’s Tongolo centre. Compiling the testimonies and files of the survivors, Nanette also follows their cases with the Human Rights and justice organisations active in the Central African Republic.

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Report24 October 2023

Between 2018 and 2022, teams from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in the Central African Republic (CAR) took care of over 19,500 survivors of sexual violence across the country.

During the same period, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency (UNFPA) documented 14,907 other cases of sexual violence in CAR reported by other humanitarian organisations working in the country, or by state structures.

This report outlines the public health emergency that sexual violence has become in CAR, with recommendations to address the crisis.

Invisible Wounds: MSF findings on sexual violence in CAR between 2018 and 2022 pdf — 1.47 MB Download

Tongolo (“star” in local language Sango), a holistic project opened by MSF at the end of 2017 in the capital, Bangui, accounted for 66% of the cases seen by MSF. The project provides medical treatment and mental health support, as well as guidance to pursue legal action and obtain protection, such as emergency shelter or socio-economic support.

MSF teams also took care of patients for sexual violence at a dozen other locations, in nearly every corner of the Central African Republic. Numerous gaps were noted at different levels in terms of assistance for the survivors as well as huge challenges for them to access care.

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Invisible Wounds: MSF findings on sexual violence in CAR between 2018 and 2022

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