27 March 2023
The international network of victims and survivors of serious human rights abuses, INOVAS, announced on their website the establishment of the annual Anne-Marie Buhoro Award, which honors the memory of Anne-Marie Buhoro, a human rights activist from the Democratic Republic of Congo’s South Kivu province who dedicated her life to fighting against sexual violence and promoting gender equality.
Who is Anne-Marie Buhoro?
As a victim of sexual violence herself, Anne-Marie felt motivated to work for other victims and survivors like her. In 2010, she and other women founded the Initiative for Vulnerable Persons and Women in Action for Integrated Development (IPVFAD), which provides support to victims and survivors of sexual violence in eastern DRC. Buhoro wanted to contribute to the protection of women in her region who face multiple human rights violations—not least, the constant spectre of sexual violence—which led to her involvement in work aimed at preventing and protecting against sexual and gender-based violence.
“Nobody was denouncing these violations because of the fear that was prevailing at that time,” she explains. “I was still angry about the violence that I suffered myself. I wanted to fight against [sexual violence], but also to make the voices of other victims heard at the local level.”
On 28 January, 2022, Anne-Marie was brutally murdered by her husband at their home in Minova, a border-town located between the North and South Kivu Provinces. Her death poignantly illustrates the persistence of gender-based violence in the DRC. INOVAS say that the Anne-Marie Award is established to continue her legacy and to support activists or organizations that are committed to her mission of ending sexual violence and promoting gender equality. It also serves as a way to remember Anne-Marie, who was a mother of six children and grand-mother of two children, and her dedication to the fight for human rights and justice.
Open nomination
Nominations for the award are now open for human rights activists or organizations that work on human rights and gender-based violence in the Great Lakes region (DRC, Burundi, and Rwanda). The nominee must have a proven track record of advocating for and promoting the rights of survivors of gender-based violence in the region. both individuals and organisations can submit their nominations until April 15, 2023.
More information about the award and the nomination process can be found here.