“Hundreds of thousands of women are humiliated, dehumanised and without protection in the Congo,” Denis Mukwege told a crowd of 1,500 at Convocation Hall Friday night. As a surgeon, Mukwege has witnessed the results of brutal acts of violence against women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The founder of the Panzi Hospital in the eastern Congolese city of Bukavu, he described his work performing reconstructive surgeries for women who have been raped and mutilated.

Mukwege spoke of villagers rounded up by soldiers in the middle of the night, armed men raping and mutilating women in public as their helpless family members look on, and hundreds of thousands of girls, some as young as three years old, left scarred.

“These acts go beyond sexual desire. They are driven by a political and socio-economic agenda,” said Mukwege, calling the mass rapes “sexual terrorism” where perpetrators seek to gain power over the country’s precious mineral resources. The epidemic of sexual violence in the Congolese conflict has been called an unprecedented use of rape as a political tool.

“This kind of rape that takes place leads to a loss of identity,” said Mukwege, causing physical and mental wounds. “When husbands witness their wives being raped and they cannot do anything, it’s shameful for them. It’s shameful for the community and for the family.” The most natural result, he said, is the displacement of entire communities that subsequently allows rebels and warring parties unrestricted access to important mining areas.

Also in attendance were Stephen Lewis, former UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, and playwright Eve Ensler. Both are outspoken activists for the plight of the Congolese women and have worked with rape victims at the Panzi Hospital.

Lewis and Ensler questioned the role of the international community in the disaster. “On Nov. 21, just one week ago, the [UN] Security Council voted 2,800 more peacekeepers and 300 more police personnel for the Congo. No one knows which countries they will come from. No one knows when they will arrive. No one appears to know anything,” said Lewis. He added that the ongoing conflict needs a force of tens of thousands, not merely thousands. The speakers emphasized that the harsh reality contains potential for change. Ensler underlined the strength of the women she met and their potential empowerment, given the right resources, while Lewis encouraged audience members to pressure local politicians.

“We continue to be optimistic on the ground because there are men and women like you tonight who’ve begun to wonder about the fact that there are more than five million four hundred thousand deaths related directly or indirectly to the war without any measures to be taken to end this catastrophe,” Mukwege said.