The Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has experienced a significant shift in its conflict landscape over the last few years, and particularly after January 2025, involving a major territorial expansion by the M23 rebellion, and in response, the increased presence of local armed groups under the banner of the “Wazalendo”. This intensification of conflict has led to increased militarization of local governance structures and the local economy in the Kivu provinces, including the artisanal mining sector. The high degree of military control deepened pre-existing vulnerabilities for marginalized genders1, and in particular women, in and around artisanal mining sites.
Based on field observations from IPIS’ partner organizations, members of the Kufatilia Network, and other collaborators, this briefing assesses the vulnerability and resilience of women in the Kivus’ artisanal mining sector and explores the gender-specific impacts of the M23 crisis on women’s protection, livelihoods, and economic conditions.
Conflict dynamics and redistribution of control in mining areas in the Kivus
Conflict dynamics in the Kivu provinces have recently been marked by rapid territorial expansion by the M23 (including in mining areas), accompanied by the M23’s replacement of existing local governance structures. At the onset of the rebellion in late 2021, M23 controlled almost no mining sites. Its entry into North Kivu’s mineral-rich areas began only in late April 2024, when it moved further into Masisi and consolidated control over the area. Next, in January 2025, it captured Goma and advanced rapidly into South Kivu. The movement now holds key towns – which function as trading hubs for minerals -, and artisanal mining areas in South Kivu’s Kalehe, Kabare, Walungu, Mwenga, and Fizi territories.
At the same time, the government mobilized Congolese youth and armed groups – some of which were close to disarmament – under the ‘’Wazalendo’’ (patriots in Kiswahili) banner to fight alongside the Congolese army and stop the further advance of M23. Ever since, Wazalendo factions have expanded recruitment and rearmament and have increased their presence in the mining sector. Despite government support, they largely live off the backs of the local population, through extortion, taxation, and abuse. This predatory behavior has militarized society, further embedding violence into daily life.
Opportunities and vulnerabilities: a gendered analysis of the ASM sector in DRC
In the DRC, women comprise an estimated 40–50% of the direct and indirect workforce in the artisanal mining economies, functioning as critical economic actors in the sector and the local economy. Nevertheless, women are often being relegated to peripheral, lower-paid, and less secure roles, such as vendors, transporters, washers, cooks, sex workers, and others. Moreover, they are exposed to structural risks, such as a lack of access to land or mineral rights, to stigmatization, exclusion from formal and male-dominated mining cooperatives, informal work, etc. Women’s participation in this sector often reflects strategic decisions to pursue income, autonomy, or mobility, even within unequal systems. However, these strategies often remain precarious and can at times even reinforce dependencies on male-dominated or militarized power structures.
Operating in informal and unstable environments, women often develop adaptive strategies to access and sustain livelihoods in mining economies. They may negotiate with local intermediaries, form community-led savings groups, or rely on patronage networks to secure work. However, as the latest upsurge of conflict in eastern DRC disrupts local governance systems, including customary authorities, local mediation mechanisms, and informal economic networks that previously enabled women’s access to mining livelihoods, these adaptive arrangements are increasingly undermined. Moreover, the resurgence of conflict and reconfiguration of power dynamics have exacerbated the intersecting risks women face within these militarized spaces. In territories now controlled or contested by armed groups such as M23 and Wazalendo, reports indicate a marked rise in sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). SGBV, as the UNHCR outlines, includes coerced labor, economic exploitation, exclusion, and survival-based coping mechanisms that blur the lines of consent. In ASM areas, frequently militarized, informal, and unregulated, the mining economy reshapes local power structures in ways that disproportionately disadvantage marginalized genders.
In these contexts, marginalized genders face layered forms of violence and exploitation perpetrated by mining actors and armed groups. This violence is shaped not only by the pursuit of economic gain, but also by the breakdown of social protections, forced displacement, impunity, and the normalization of coercive power structures within militarized zones.
Impact of the crisis on women’s protection and economic conditions in mining zones in the Kivus
Worrying gender-specific trends and incidents affecting women’s safety in the Kivus’ mining areas have been reported by IPIS’ DRC-based CSO partners and mine experts over the past months. While not exhaustive or statistically representative, these accounts offer critical insights into the gendered impact of the ongoing crisis.2
- Economic violence and precarity
The current presence of M23 and Wazalendo in North and South Kivu has added new layers of economic violence that disproportionately affect women. These armed groups systematically destabilize local economies by disrupting trade routes, displacing communities, and extorting local markets. This economic disruption has a gendered impact: women, who are often primarily responsible for household food provision, small-scale trade, and informal income-generating activities, face increased economic insecurity.
Both armed groups exercise control over local economies through roadblocks, illegal taxation, and the establishment of parallel administrative structures. IPIS’ partners also reported that these measures disrupt the flow of goods, limit access to mining areas, inflate prices for basic goods, and extort households, which undermines local livelihoods. Another source indicated that the broader erosion of liquidity in mining villages, where women rely on nearby towns for food and essential goods, further amplifies their economic vulnerability. Women often bear the burden of survival, one interviewee noted, especially when men are killed in fighting, leaving them as the sole providers for their families.
Moreover, beyond these structural economic pressures, women face targeted exclusion and displacement. Multiple field sources from local partners report that M23 has evicted women from mining sites under its control, effectively cutting them off from one of the few remaining livelihood opportunities. In several instances, pre-existing women’s cooperatives have been compelled to leave, disrupting their economic activities and undermining years of collective effort. At the same time, women’s exclusion from credit – already a longstanding challenge in mining areas – is deepening, as displacement and insecurity further limit their ability to access capital, rebuild businesses, or invest in alternative income-generating activities.
- Mobility and safety issues
While women remain active in mining-related activities across the Kivus, their ability to move freely and safely is increasingly constrained. One interviewee indicated that in Wazalendo-controlled zones, such as Walungu and Shabunda territories, women frequently report being extorted at arbitrary checkpoints, where they are forced to pay in cash or kind. These encounters are often accompanied by invasive and intimate body searches, typically justified by suspicions of mineral smuggling. According to local partners, those unable to meet payment demands face harassment, threats, or physical assault. Partners also reported a growing fear among women of being kidnapped, detained, or subjected to sexual violence during everyday movements. Such fears significantly obstruct women’s mobility, deepening both their economic isolation and physical vulnerability.
- Sexual and gender-based violence
Multiple interviewees reported incidents of SGBV involving various actors3, manifesting in forms such as (gang) rape, violations, tortures, the coercion of young girls into early marriage, survival sex, forced prostitution, and forced labor. However, according to local partners, many cases remain underreported due to stigma, fear of reprisals, and limited access to services. While these testimonies are not necessarily representative, they do point to serious concerns about the prevalence and nature of such violations.
Women are particularly exposed to abuse due to illegal taxation and coercive practices by Wazalendo, including forced payments at mining site entrances, the imposition of “jeton corporel” (body tokens), and invasive searches. Non-compliance has reportedly led to extreme punishments; for example, a source mentioned that ten women were allegedly executed in Shabunda territory for resisting such demands. According to local partners, government legitimization has emboldened Wazalendo elements, fostering a sense of impunity and, combined with their loose hierarchy, leading to more violent behaviors. One interviewee noted that this intensification of abuses by Wazalendo elements may be intended to assert dominance and control over local populations, thereby demonstrating their territorial influence to authorities in Kinshasa and forcing local communities into compliance.
According to another interviewee, M23-controlled mining areas reportedly display comparatively lower levels of direct SGBV, as the group would focus on maximizing mineral production, with women and children often involved as transporters. However, women remain at risk of coercion, exclusion, and harassment. Moreover, both armed groups have distanced themselves from these violations.
- Access to services and protection issues
Female interviewees have expressed that women’s access to protection and essential services is systematically undermined. In certain Wazalendo-controlled zones, our partners indicated that local women’s organizations have been prevented from operating. One interviewee pointed out the widespread fear of being accused of affiliation with M23, shutting down formal or informal case documentation, and leaving victims without any support or access to referral systems. According to reports, no post-rape kits are available in the mining areas under Wazalendo control, and women attempting to engage local organizations risk being targeted.
Local leaders and service providers are also under threat. Sources highlighted that local actors and services feared retaliation from armed groups if they attempted to document cases or allowed any form of humanitarian intervention. According to our sources, the justice system is effectively absent in many of the affected areas, where no judicial services are operational. Some health facilities do exist, but they are severely under-resourced, and many international and national NGOs have suspended their operations due to insecurity.
Conclusion and recommendations
These observations call for further investigation and more systematic documentation. While the nature and organization of abuses vary, local actors report the absence of judicial recourse, limited humanitarian access, and the targeting of civil society organizations attempting to document violations. These conditions have not only contributed to the underreporting of SGBV but have also undermined broader efforts toward accountability, inclusion, and the protection of human rights. To address these gaps, it is important to:
- Prioritize gender-responsive protection in militarized mining zones. Protection gaps are severe in both M23- and Wazalendo-controlled areas. Therefore, ensuring that any humanitarian or stabilization interventions are gender-sensitive and informed by local realities, including patterns of SGBV, restricted mobility, and economic coercion, is essential.
- Support local actors, cautiously and contextually. Field reports indicate that local women’s organizations face repression and risk. Any support to these actors must be flexible, discreet, and designed to avoid increasing their exposure.
- Marginalized genders refer to gender identities and expressions that are systematically disadvantaged or rendered invisible within societal structures. ↩︎
- IPIS expresses its deep appreciation to its partners for their courageous work and for sharing their observations in these difficult circumstances. For security reasons, their anonymity is preserved. ↩︎
- M23, Wazalendo and other armed groups are by far not the only actors responsible for these gender specific trends and there are many examples of SGBV committed by individuals within mining communities or state security services. However, this briefing looks specifically at SGBV by non-state armed groups. ↩︎
FURTHER READING
This briefing was produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The contents of the editorial is the sole responsibility of IPIS and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union.
