On April 8, 2008, activists and viewers across the country watched the HBO premier of The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo [1], a shocking exposé of a decade-old epidemic of kidnapping, rape and torture of women and girls in the civil war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). ENOUGH [2], HBO [3] and our partners [4] teamed up to coordinate and organize home screenings across the U.S. to view and discuss the film together. [5]
Watch [6] the official trailer for "The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo."
Listen [7] to filmmaker Lisa F. Jackson; Director of Public Policy at the International Family Violence Prevention Fund, Keirsten Stewart; and ENOUGH Co-Chair, John Prendergast discuss the film and what you can do to help end violence against women.
Download ENOUGH's Congo card [8] to learn more about the current situation in eastern Congo.
Sign up for email updates [9] on the latest deveopments in the Congo.
About the Film:
THE GREATEST SILENCE: RAPE IN THE CONGO documents filmmaker Lisa F. Jackson’s journeys to the war zones of eastern Congo to find survivors willing to bear witness to their experiences and break that silence. It is a film at once political and profoundly personal for Jackson, who was herself gang-raped by three men in Washington, D.C. at age 25. She shares her experience with the women she interviews, and they ask her, “Was there a war in your country?” As evidence of her commitment to the film and the stories of these women, Jackson traveled alone to the DRC and performed all production functions (producer, director, DP, sound) while there.
With THE GREATEST SILENCE: RAPE IN THE CONGO, Jackson challenges audiences to wonder what dark forces are at work in a world that has allowed more than 250,000 women and girls to suffer such atrocities without offering them either solace or justice. Economic greed seems to be one factor: Criminal groups appear to be fanning the flames of civil war in order to perpetuate chaos and instability in the region while they plunder eastern Congo’s natural riches of diamonds,
gold and coltan – a metal used in cell phones and laptops – for personal profit. As many of the people in the film attest, systematic rape is an effective way to destroy the very foundations of a society. But why are those in power – including powerful nations like the U.S. –
not doing more to prevent the rapes?
[11]
American Jewish Committee [12]
American Jewish World Service [13]
Campus Progress [15]
Congo Global Action [16]
Citizens for Global Solutions [17]
Family Violence Prevention Fund [18]
Friends of the Congo [19]
Genocide Intervention Network [20]
International Rescue Committee [21]
Mennonite Central Committee U.S. Washington Office [22]
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People [23]
Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism [24]
Resolve Uganda [25]
Run for Congo Women [26]
STAND [27]
United Methodist General Board of Church and Society [28] [29]
Women for Women Internationa [30]l [31]