Terrorismo sexual como arma de guerra: um estudo de caso do fenômeno na República Democrática do Congo

Abstract

This research investigates the systematic use of sexual terrorism as a weapon of war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), analysing how sexual violence in armed-conflict contexts is instrumentalized for political, economic, and social ends, consolidating itself as a terrorist practice. This research demonstrates that, in the DRC, sexual violence operates as terrorism through the governance of fear, articulated with the political economy of mineral extraction. Based on a qualitative case study, specialized literature, and reports, the research applies theoretical lenses of Héctor Saint-Pierre (tactical, strategic, and political levels) and of gender to distinguish two complementary modalities of sexual terrorism: centralized policy (command and occupation of mineral rich territories/routes) and diffuse norm (opportunistic practice under permissiveness and structural impunity). Thus, it is argued that sexual and gender-based violence is not a collateral effect of the permanent context of war, but a deliberate mechanism of community disciplining and of enabling militarized extractive chains. By making verifiable indicators explicit (patterns of cruelty, generalized terror, displacement, seizure of mines/routes), the study contributes to Security Studies and African Studies from an intersectional gender and critical perspective, questioning the sufficiency of technocratic responses and advocating international actions that address structural causes