Multimedia -Sexual Warfare, Rape in the Democratic Republic of Congo

When duckrabbit lived in Ethiopia the radio programmes that I managed regularly told stories of women and children who had been the victims of sexual violence. The stories were horrific.  To say that that the problem is endemic is to put it mildly. Sexual violence  against women and children is rampant the world over but can reach fever pitch in conflict zones.

There’s nothing new about the concept of ‘rape and pillage’ and it’s certainly not just a shocking element of conflicts in Africa.  The UN estimates that between 20,000 and 50,000 women were raped during the 1992-5 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. When your job is to go out in the morning and kill with impunity, when any sense of morality has been obliterated from your mind, no-one should be surprised that men rape.

Kimberley Porteous and Kate Geraghty of the Sydney Morning Herald have just published a multimedia project ‘Sexual Warfare, Rape in the Democratic Republic of Congo.’

What sets this project apart is that for once a man’s story is at the centre.  It features the voice of a rapist.

It was a brave decision to present him, despite his crimes, as a  human being. Perhaps too human?

Visually the work is arresting, powerfully evoking Eastern Congo.  With the new cameras coming onto the market that record video I’ve noticed a tendency  for photographers to over produce their work.  Too much music, too many fancy shots, use of stop motion and black and white images, trying too hard.  Style takes over from substance. Everybody loves it on Vimeo but they’re loving the effects not the story. No such problem here.

Where I do struggle is the presentation of the women. They all seem to merge into one homogeneous mass of unspeakable suffering.  We connect with them only on the level that they have been raped, nothing else. They are presented purely as victims.

How many times do we need a woman to tell us that they’ve been raped, or that soldier has shoved his gun up their private parts? No-one needs to persuade me this is a problem. I want to feel empowered to act.

If you really want your audience to connect, you have to reach beyond the darkness. If you really want to paint a deep picture of loss, you have to show what has been lost.

You can’t do that with multiple voices in two and half minutes.

You have to give a story time to breath, to move us beyond shock, beyond incomprehensibility into understanding.

None of this takes away from the power of the piece.  A great deal of love and a great deal of thoughtfulness has gone into it. I’d be interested to see what other duckrabbit readers think.

RESPONSE:

SAM COLEY

It certainly packs a short, sharp, shock… I kinda like the fact that it slaps you with such severe brievity. The superb use of music also adds a real touch of sensitivity and drama… Sans Frontieres kick multimedia ass.

JUNO

Great photography. Simple and clear story. I agree it should have been longer, especially with video you want to see more vibrancy. a sense of resilience which is what we all know keeps these women sane after such brutal experiences. It still is powerful, maybe the duration works in making one wish to hear more.

J. Davis

Interesting posting very depressing subject. I pray for women that have been raped. Awful.