48 Women raped every hour in Congo

By the time you finish reading this article five women in the Congo will have been raped.
No woman in the Democratic Republic of Congo is safe from sexual violence, say researchers at the American Journal of Public Health.
Research shows 12% of the country's women have been raped at least once, and the crisis is not confined to conflict areas
An estimated 400,000 women every year, or 48 an hour, are being raped across the war-torn central African country.
Even those living in areas not affected by ongoing civil strife are vulnerable, the US government-backed study shows.
The figures are far higher than previous estimates, though the United Nations has admitted its previous findings had been ‘just the tip of the iceberg’.
An estimated 5.4million people have been killed since the Second Congo War broke out in 1998, with fighting continuing in the east despite peace accords.
Margot Wallström, UN special representative for sexual violence in the region, said: ‘Conflict-related sexual violence is one of the major obstacles to peace in the DRC.’