The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo
Encyclopedia
The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo is a 2008 documentary film
directed by Lisa F. Jackson. The film tells of the treatment of women in the Democratic Republic of Congo, focusing on the systematic use of sexual violence as a tool of war. Lisa F. Jackson, herself a victim of gang rape, tells her story while relating the stories of several Congolese women.
She speaks also with police officers, international peacekeepers and the rapists themselves. She also shows a clinic devoted to treating women with traumatic injury due to sexual violence, particularly cases of vesicovaginal
and rectovaginal fistula
.
The film competed in the Documentary Competition at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival
. The film was awarded the Special Jury Prize Documentary award at Sundance.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
directed by Lisa F. Jackson. The film tells of the treatment of women in the Democratic Republic of Congo, focusing on the systematic use of sexual violence as a tool of war. Lisa F. Jackson, herself a victim of gang rape, tells her story while relating the stories of several Congolese women.
She speaks also with police officers, international peacekeepers and the rapists themselves. She also shows a clinic devoted to treating women with traumatic injury due to sexual violence, particularly cases of vesicovaginal
Vesicovaginal fistula
Vesicovaginal fistula is a subtype of female urogenital fistula .-Presentation:VVF is an abnormal fistulous tract extending between the bladder and the vagina that allows the continuous involuntary discharge of urine into the vaginal vault....
and rectovaginal fistula
Rectovaginal fistula
A rectovaginal fistula is a medical condition where there is a fistula or abnormal connection between the rectum and the vagina. Rectovaginal fistula may be extremely debilitating. If the opening between the rectum and vagina is wide it will allow both flatulence and feces to escape through the...
.
The film competed in the Documentary Competition at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival
2008 Sundance Film Festival
The 2008 Sundance Film Festival ran from January 17, 2008 to January 27 in Park City, Utah. It was the 24th iteration of the Sundance Film Festival. The opening night film was In Bruges and the closing night film was CSNY Déjà Vu.-Films:...
. The film was awarded the Special Jury Prize Documentary award at Sundance.
See also
- Sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the CongoSexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the CongoHuman Rights Watch defines sexual violence as “an act of a sexual nature by force, or by threat of force or coercion,” and rape as “a form of sexual violence during which the body of a person is invaded, resulting in penetration, however slight, of any part of the body of the victim, with a sexual...
- Second Congo WarSecond Congo WarThe Second Congo War, also known as Coltan War and the Great War of Africa, began in August 1998 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo , and officially ended in July 2003 when the Transitional Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo took power; however, hostilities continue to this...
- Kivu conflictKivu conflictThe Kivu conflict is an armed conflict between the military of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Hutu Power group Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda . The United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo also became involved in the conflict...