The City of Joy, DR Congo
About City of Joy
The City of Joy is a transformational leadership community for women survivors of violence, located in Bukavu, Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Conceived, owned, and run by local Congolese, the City of Joy has flourished since it first opened its doors in June 2011, healing women from their past trauma through therapy and life skills programming while providing them with the essential ingredients needed to move forward in life – love and community.
Serving 90 survivors of gender violence aged 18 to 30 at a time, City of Joy has graduated 1472 women leaders since it opened in 2011.
The City of Joy is a project of the Fondation Panzi (DRC) and V-Day.
The City of Joy is a transformational leadership community for women survivors of violence, located in Bukavu, Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Conceived, owned, and run by local Congolese, the City of Joy has flourished since it first opened its doors in June 2011, healing women from their past trauma through therapy and life skills programming while providing them with the essential ingredients needed to move forward in life – love and community.
Serving 90 survivors of gender violence aged 18 to 30 at a time, City of Joy has graduated 1472 women leaders since it opened in 2011.
The City of Joy is a project of the Fondation Panzi (DRC) and V-Day.
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“When women first come they cannot see you, they can’t talk to you, they are ashamed, they are fearful, but after six months at City of Joy they can stand, talk without fear, without shame, and they have confidence in themselves.”
Francine Bintu Why It’s Needed Violence against women impacts one out of three women on the planet. That is over one billion women and girls who will be survivors during their lifetimes. This violence destroys women, which destroys life itself, which in turn eradicates our communities and our future. V-Day works to stop the violence, but to also turn the pain that is caused by violence into power –harnessing the pain that survivors live with and transforming it into a force for good. The City of Joy provides an unprecedented opportunity to demonstrate women’s leadership in the context of conflict and disaster zones. While this work requires an approach specific to the cultural and political climate of a given location – one that is determined by those it will be serving – V-Day believes it can learn a great deal from its experience in the DRC that can be applied to its work globally. Each day at the City of Joy is lesson. _______________________________________________ |
Vagina Warrior Program
The City of Joy’s revolutionary Vagina Warrior Program aims to provide a safe and empowering community for survivors of gender violence who have demonstrated leadership qualities. The focus is on healing trauma, building self-esteem and skills, and training women leaders. Activities include:
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Why Congo?
Since 1996, sexual and gender violence in the Eastern DRC has been used to torture and humiliate women and girls and destroy families. Advocates on the ground estimate that over half a million women and girls have been raped since the conflict began. In addition to the severe psychological impact, sexual and gender violence leaves many survivors with genital lesions, traumatic fistulae, severed and broken limbs, unwanted pregnancies, and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV. Survivors are regularly ostracized and abandoned by their families and communities. Another added challenge is widespread gender inequity.
In 2007, Eve Ensler was invited to visit Bukavu, DRC by Dr. Denis Mukwege of Panzi Hospital to witness first-hand the atrocities that women were experiencing in the Congo. It was on this trip that Eve met Christine Schluer-Deschryver, a tireless activist for the rights of Congolese women. Together, they met with dozens of women survivors who voiced a desire for a safe community in which they could heal from their trauma – a City of Joy.
In response to Eve’s fact-finding mission to the Congo, V-Day launched a Congo Campaign, STOP RAPING OUR GREATEST RESOURCE: POWER TO THE WOMEN AND THE GIRLS OF DRC. A joint national campaign in partnership with Unicef and thousands of activists on the ground, the campaign:
Since 1996, sexual and gender violence in the Eastern DRC has been used to torture and humiliate women and girls and destroy families. Advocates on the ground estimate that over half a million women and girls have been raped since the conflict began. In addition to the severe psychological impact, sexual and gender violence leaves many survivors with genital lesions, traumatic fistulae, severed and broken limbs, unwanted pregnancies, and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV. Survivors are regularly ostracized and abandoned by their families and communities. Another added challenge is widespread gender inequity.
In 2007, Eve Ensler was invited to visit Bukavu, DRC by Dr. Denis Mukwege of Panzi Hospital to witness first-hand the atrocities that women were experiencing in the Congo. It was on this trip that Eve met Christine Schluer-Deschryver, a tireless activist for the rights of Congolese women. Together, they met with dozens of women survivors who voiced a desire for a safe community in which they could heal from their trauma – a City of Joy.
In response to Eve’s fact-finding mission to the Congo, V-Day launched a Congo Campaign, STOP RAPING OUR GREATEST RESOURCE: POWER TO THE WOMEN AND THE GIRLS OF DRC. A joint national campaign in partnership with Unicef and thousands of activists on the ground, the campaign:
- Raised global awareness about the level of gender violence in the DRC
- Advocated for change on local, provincial, national, and international levels
- Provided support to activists in the DRC and around the globe who are working to end the atrocities and change perceptions about gender and sexual violence
- Supported the creation of the City of Joy in Bukavu, South Kivu
For more information on City of Joy, see City of Joy Congo
