Photos of Congo Sex Abuse Travel the U.S.

By Theresa Braine

WeNews correspondent

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

"To allow this to continue belittles the whole of humanity." That was the comment of one visitor at the U.N. opening of a touring photo exhibit about women who face gender violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

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The exhibit starts out by showing the context in which these women live their lives. This stood in stark contrast to the comfortable surroundings of the exhibit and the wine-and-cheese opening for well-heeled visitors in mid-October.

"To allow this to continue belittles the whole of humanity," Paul Neville, a member of the Australian Parliament, in town on U.N. business, told Women's eNews at the exhibit opening. "Action against this sort of violence and abuse should go beyond the normal protocols. I knew of abuses in the Congo but this brings it home graphically, in a one-on-one type situation where we're confronted with our own lack of engagement with these subjects. It's artistic in its dreadful message."

The exhibit collects the work of photographers Lynsey Addario, Marcus Bleasdale, Ron Haviv and James Nachtwey, all award-winning journalists who have reported internationally for years.

Most Horrifying Experience

"Congo/Women Portraits of War" Exhibit Schedule:

United Nations, N.Y.: Oct. 1–Nov 2

Yale University, New Haven, Conn.: Nov. 10–Nov. 24

USAID, Washington, D.C.: Dec. 1–Dec. 12

Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, Fla.: Approximately Jan. 2–Feb. 21, 2010

United Nations, Geneva, Switzerland: March 3–March 26

Virginia Holocaust Museum, Richmond, Va.: Approximately April 1–May 1

"It's the most horrific thing that you can experience," veteran photojournalist Bleasdale told Women's eNews, referring to the women's ordeals. He said that in his more than 20 years of reporting and photographing abroad, the women's stories are the worst testimonies he had listened to. He, Haviv and Nachtwey photographed and interviewed the women during the course of their reporting for numerous media. Addario, a fellow with the ESB Institute, photographed the women in the Congo specifically for this project.

The exhibit includes multimedia elements, such as snippets from the seven-part BBC documentary series, "Women on the Front Line," which profiles gender violence worldwide and was first broadcast in April 2008. There is also a haunting recording of excerpts from women's accounts of their abuse, read by actress Cheryl Lynn Bruce.

Leslie Thomas, the exhibit's curator and co-director (along with co-director and creative adviser Jane Saks) and a founder of Art Works Projects, said the women's battles are unique. "Having a war fought inside you is not acceptable," she said.

"I will never stop advocating for these victims," United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said at the exhibit's opening, which drew a few hundred people. "But let us remember: They are not just victims. They are so much more than the rape they suffered or the ordeal they have overcome. They are mothers, sisters and friends. They should be part of the effort to rebuild their societies. They can lead great and productive lives."

Journalist Theresa Braine covers international issues from her base in New York City.

Women's eNews welcomes your comments. E-mail us at editors@womensenews.org.