After witnessing the devastating impact of sexual violence on children in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Iraq, Cathleen de Kerchove was driven to take action. In this interview, she shares how her organization came to life, her experiences with survivors, the challenges faced on the ground, and the remarkable resilience she has seen in both children and women. She also explains unique approach to healing—and why restoring dignity and hope is essential for building lasting peace.
Question: Let’s begin with the origins of your non-governmental organization, the Children of Panzi and Elsewhere (CPE). What inspired you and your co-founders to start this organization, and how did you end up working with Dr. Denis Mukwege, the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize winner, and the Panzi Hospital?
Cathleen De Kerchove: The Children of Panzi and Elsewhere grew out of a series of deeply moving, life-changing humanitarian moments.
In 2015, after several years working in Rwanda with survivors of the genocide, I took part in a mission to assist Yazidi survivors living in makeshift camps in Iraqi Kurdistan. There, I was once again deeply shaken by the harrowing testimonies, this time from young girls, some as young as seven, who had been sold and repeatedly raped.
When I got back from this mission, I met Dr. Denis Mukwege, the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. At his Panzi Hospital in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a treatment centre for victims of sexual violence, he was dealing with the same kind of tragedies, very young girls, sometimes even babies, arriving on his operating table. Dr. Mukwege could heal their physical wounds, but he felt helpless when it came to the deep psychological wounds and the social stigma these children faced when they returned to their villages. What would happen to them?
Seeing this urgent need and these broken futures, I felt we could not wait any longer and needed to act. Together with three other compassionate Belgian women, I helped create Children of Panzi and Elsewhere to provide psychosocial care and real psychological recovery for these young survivors.
Working closely with Dr. Mukwege, and local field psychologists, we developed a holistic approach inspired by the type of healing provided at the Panzi Hospital but brought it directly into the villages and adapted it to the many affected children and to the realities on the ground.
Question: The situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo remains dire. The UN human rights team on the ground have documented that 2024 saw a significant increase in sexual violence, especially gang rape, with many of the victims being young girls. Can you tell us more about this, and how your team on the ground in Bukavu responds to such an overwhelming reality?
Cathleen De Kerchove: The situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is getting worse, every social safety net has basically collapsed. Rape, particularly the rape of children, has become not only common but also a real weapon of war. It destroys both the victims themselves but also the entire social fabric around them. In the case of children, this violence destroys a life that has barely begun.
In face of this devastating reality, our teams in Bukavu are doing everything they can to reorganize in order to welcome and support new victims, even in an extremely fragile security environment. For now, we are no longer able to provide psychological and social care for children who are victims of, or born from, sexual violence. But we are following up with those who have completed the programme and who, thankfully, remain in stable medical condition thanks to what they’ve learnt and acquired and their ongoing schooling. We hope to be able to reassess them and restart new programmes as soon as conditions allow.
Even so, finding funds for such initiatives remains a huge challenge. But, as we often remind ourselves, if we think a little further than tomorrow, our true mission is to help build more peaceful societies, where children can imagine a future. Experience has taught us that when someone feels they have nothing left to lose, they are capable of the worst. That’s why it is so urgent to restore hope and dignity to these children shattered by war.
Question: Your organization has developed a holistic, three-year methodology in partnership with a Belgian university. What makes this approach unique, and what transformations have you witnessed in the lives of the children and families you accompany?
Cathleen De Kerchove: The approach developed by Children of Panzi and Elsewhere, in partnership with a Belgian university, is unique in that it looks at the children within the full context of their environment, including the family, the community, and the school. Our method combines multiple dimensions; individual and group therapy, awareness and prevention campaigns, educational support, psychoeducation, and social assistance, to help the child rebuild their life in a holistic way.
This approach is rolled out over three years followed by monitoring each year. It allows practitioners to accompany the child through different stages of development, to gradually reduce symptoms of post-traumatic stress, and to help the child regain the inner strength to imagine a future surrounded and supported by family and community.
There is also a scientific side of the program: children are assessed three times, at the beginning, halfway through and at the end and the data collected in the field is analyzed and published.
We have also developed innovative tools, such as a smartphone app for testing the children and a book reading activity allowing them to continue to strengthen their skills at their own pace at home.
The transformations we see are life changing. Children regain confidence, re-engage with their education, rebuild relationships with their families and communities, and, most importantly, start believing in their future again.
Let me add that the approach is designed to be accessible to field practitioners even with limited resources. And it can also be adapted to other cultural contexts, making it sustainable and something that can work in many parts of the world. In a country still navigating ongoing conflict and fragility, how does the issue of rape as a weapon of war impact broader peacebuilding efforts?
Rape has been used as a weapon of war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and elsewhere and has devastating consequences beyond the direct survivors. This violence is a deliberate strategy aimed at destroying the social fabric, spreading fear, and breaking community cohesion. By targeting the most intimate part of a person, this form of violence undermines the very foundation a society needs to rebuild itself, like trust, solidarity, and the sense of belonging.
When a community has gone through that kind of trauma, reconciliation is not easy. Survivors are often left alone, stigmatized, rejected, or silenced, which further reinforces social fragmentation. Sexual violence in conflict is not only an act of humiliation against women, it is also a powerful blow to the future of the entire community.
Peacebuilding efforts can only succeed if they fully integrate justice and reparations for survivors. Healing physical wounds is not enough; dignity must be restored, trust rebuilt within families and villages, and women and children must be given a central place in the rebuilding process. That’s why the work of organizations such as Children of Panzi and Elsewhere and people like Dr. Denis Mukwege is so important: they help turn pain into resilience and make psychological and social care a true cornerstone of lasting peace. Their impact is also strengthened by the advocacy of the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Ms. Pramila Patten, whose leadership and initiatives in promoting accountability, amplifying survivors’ voices, and advancing concrete measures to prevent and respond to sexual violence across the world.
Question: Having worked so closely with survivors, local communities, and international partners—what lessons have you personally learned along the way, and what gives you hope today in such a difficult context?
Cathleen De Kerchove: Over the years I’ve spent alongside the local team, people who live these realities every day. I have had the opportunity to be close to child survivors of or born from sexual violence, and to work with local communities. I have learned above all about the extraordinary strength of human resilience. And even after going through unspeakable pain, these children and women find somehow a way to smile, to learn, and to dream again. Their resilience, their dignity and courage, are very humble.
I’ve also come to realize that rebuilding doesn’t happen alone. It takes collective effort, solidarity, compassion, and partnerships between local communities and international actors. Every step forward, even the smallest, matters. A child going back to school, a mother finding strength to speak again in her community, a family that rebuilds a broken bond, each of these steps are powerful victories.
Today, what gives me hope today is precisely that: the amazing ability of children to rebuild their lives when they are supported with respect and consistency. I’m also encouraged by growing awareness around the world. More and more voices are breaking the silence and speaking out for justice and peace. Even in the most difficult situations, every life that has been transformed is proof that a better future is possible. Lastly, what message would you like to share with the survivors?
The message I would like to convey to survivors, their children, and children who are themselves survivors, is above all one of respect, recognition, and hope. You are so much more than what you have been through. You are not defined by the violence that you suffered, nor by the circumstances of your birth. What defines you is the strength you show every day and the way you keep going, rising, loving, dreaming and growing into who you want to be.
I want you to know this: you are not alone. There are women and men, in the DRC and elsewhere in the world who stand with you, who fight every day to ensure that justice is served, that your dignity is restored, and that your voices are heard. Your courage to speak out will help make sure that, one day, shame the perpetrators will be held accountable.
And more than anything I want you to know that a better future is possible. Even though the road is long and often painful, every step forward is a victory. You carry within you the light of real change. And thanks to you, the world can no longer turn away from injustice and suffering.