Women's group appeals for rape victims

The Organisation des femmes centrafricaines, a women's association in the Central African Republic (CAR), launched an aid appeal on 5 December for women raped during the October rebel uprising. "They need urgent humanitarian assistance, including medicines and food," Helene Kaine, chairwoman of the association, told IRIN on Friday. "Among them were children aged between nine and 14." The association has already identified 20 rape victims, whom it provides with psychological counselling. Others are being cared for by Medicos Sin Fronteras, and a UN-supported team of experts currently comprising a gynaecologist, a lawyer, and a psychologist. The latter group has produced a provisional figure of 100 rape victims, 20 of whom need intensive care. The association has proposed to the government and donors the establishment of a care centre for the victims. The asssociation, which is supporting their legal complaints, is also encouraging victims to be tested for HIV. "They have the right to file complaints because rape is a crime," Kaine said. Most of the rapes were committed by fighters of Jean-Pierre Bemba's Mouvement de liberation du Congo, based in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who fought alongside the CAR army to crush the rebellion led by Gen Francois Bozize.