This week the House of Representatives passed House Resolution 1227 which condemns the epidemic of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This resolution, introduced by Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney of New York, also calls on the international community to act immediately to end this horrific conflict. Congressional recognition of the epidemic of sexual violence plaguing the DRC is an encouraging development and serves as a critical first step to bringing a halt to the scourge of violence in eastern Congo.

During her floor statement, Ms. Maloney pointed out that “in this war, the battlefield is literally the bodies of women and girls. Congress must continue its commitment to the people of the DRC as it has demonstrated in the past.”

In the last ten years, the Congo has been the site of the deadliest war since War II, having claimed more than five million lives, and displaced more than one million people. By the end of this and every month, 45,000 more Congolese—half of them children—will die from hunger, preventable disease, and other consequences of violence and displacement.

Moreover, rape and other acts of sexual violence in the Congo are routinely used as weapons of war. Congolese women and girls in particular bear the vicious brunt of this crisis. Indeed, eastern Congo right now is perhaps the most dangerous place in the world to be a woman or a girl.

The passage of House Resolution 1227 is a welcome first step toward protecting and empowering Congolese women. However, it is imperative that this step not be our last.