Mobutu Sese Seko's government of "Kleptocracy" collapsed in 1997 after 30 years of oppression. The new nation that emerged, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), remains an all-to-potent reminder of how human rights violations, and their related health and economic impacts, can devastate individuals, families and communities. The genocide in neighboring Rwanda, coupled with the collapse of the Mobutu government, has spawned two wars and over a decade of warfare throughout the region, resulting in millions of deaths in what is the deadliest conflict since World War II 1. The last decade has seen the use of rape as a weapon of war in the DRC, where rebels and soldiers subject women, men and children to brutalizing attacks, rape, torture, and mutilation. Survivors of the assault are often further traumatized by infections, disease, poverty, stigma and social isolation.