Julienne Lusenge

Biography

Julienne Lusenge was born in 1961 in Kisangani, in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. She grew up during a period of post-independence turmoil and witnessed the escalating violence that would define the DRC's eastern provinces for decades.

She became a journalist and human rights activist, and in the late 1990s turned her focus to the crisis of sexual violence in conflict zones, which was devastating communities across the east.

Historical Context

The DRC has endured decades of armed conflict, particularly in its eastern provinces. Since the mid-1990s, sexual violence has been used systematically as a weapon of war by armed groups and military forces. The UN has called the DRC "the rape capital of the world." Hundreds of thousands of women and girls have been affected, many with no access to justice, healthcare, or economic support.

What She Fought For

In 2000, Lusenge founded Solidarité Féminine pour la Paix et le Développement Intégral (SOFEPADI), an organisation providing legal aid, medical referrals, and psychosocial support to survivors of sexual violence in the DRC. She later co-founded the Fund for Congolese Women, which provides micro-grants to women's organisations in conflict zones.

She has worked to ensure that sexual violence in the DRC is not treated as an inevitable consequence of war but as a crime that demands justice. She has testified before the UN Security Council, the International Criminal Court, and the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights.

She campaigns for women's participation in peace negotiations, arguing that peace agreements made without women do not hold.

Major Achievements

• Founded SOFEPADI (2000), providing legal and psychosocial support to survivors of sexual violence
• Co-founded the Fund for Congolese Women
• Testified before the UN Security Council and the International Criminal Court
• Awarded the Human Rights Prize of the French Republic (2018)
• Named one of Time magazine's most influential people in global human rights
• Persistent advocate for women's inclusion in DRC peace processes

Her Impact Today

Julienne Lusenge continues her work in the DRC, where the conflict is far from over. SOFEPADI has supported thousands of survivors. The Fund for Congolese Women has channelled resources directly to women-led organisations on the ground.

She represents a form of activism that is not about speeches and awards but about showing up, day after day, in the most dangerous places in the world, for the people the world has decided to forget.

Sources: Wikipedia (Julienne Lusenge), UN Women, Human Rights Watch, Fund for Congolese Women