Media Kit. Dr. Denis Mukwege Foundation 1

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1 Media Kit Dr. Denis Mukwege Foundation 1

2 It's our mission to end rape as a weapon of war. The Dr. Denis Mukwege Foundation is an international human rights organization set up with the objective to end the use of sexual violence in conflict zones. Together with its special advisor, the Congolese gynecologist and women's rights activist Dr. Denis Mukwege, the foundation supports projects to help survivors worldwide and fight gender inequalities. At the local level, we directly support Dr. Mukwege s Panzi Foundation and Hospital in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the work they do with survivors. At the global level, we advocate to end impunity, break the silence, and make voices of survivors heard. We work with governments and international organizations to strengthen the international norms prohibiting sexual violence. Furthermore, we help to apply Dr. Mukwege s best-practices and his outstanding experience from DRC in other conflict-affected countries. Dr. Denis Mukwege Foundation 2

3 Contact Dr. Denis Mukwege Foundation Tel.: (+31) Office The Hague Laan van Meerdervoort 70 Fifth Floor 2517 AN The Hague The Netherlands Office Geneva Maison de la Paix Chemin Eugène-Rigot 2 Building Geneva Switzerland Partnerships, development and fundraising Debby Gruiters, The Hague debby@mukwegefoundation.org Communications and Media media@mukwegefoundation.org Abena Lauber, Geneva abenalauber@mukwegefoundation.org Facebook: Twitter: Instagram: Newsletter: Donations IBAN: NL06 ABNA Dr. Denis Mukwege Foundation 3

4 About the Mukwege Foundation In many countries, terrorist groups, rebels and armies use sexual violence as a means of warfare. It is a strategy which includes sexual torture and slavery, forced sterilization and rape. In 2016 the Dr. Denis Mukwege Foundation was established to address the widespread use of sexual violence in conflict zones worldwide. The organization applies three key strategies at the individual and global level: promote holistic healing services to survivors, increase accountability for and recognition of sexual violence crimes at the global level, and fight gender inequalities. The Mukwege Foundation promotes holistic healing programs for survivors which integrate medical and psychological care, legal support and socio-economic assistance. The model was developed by Dr. Denis Mukwege, a Congolese gynecologist and founder of Panzi hospital in Bukavu in Estern DRC. Since 1999, more than survivors of sexual violence were treated at Panzi. With the experience and specific expertise from Congo, the Mukwege Foundation partners with organizations worldwide to apply the holistic model in other conflict zones. At the regional and global level, the organization works with governments and international organizations to enforce the responsibility of states to prevent and halt the use of sexual violence. The Mukwege Foundation aims to create a political climate where sexual violence is not accepted anymore. > More about the Mukwege Foundation. Dr. Denis Mukwege Foundation 4

5 Mukwege s work doesn t end with physical healing. Through a rehabilitation center that shares the same leafy compound as the hospital, patients are given the psychological help, skills and opportunities to knit their lives back together, turning rape victims into survivors. TIME Magazine, 2017 Dr. Denis Mukwege Foundation 5

6 Biography of Dr. Denis Mukwege Dr. Denis Mukwege, born on 1 March 1955 as son of a protestant pastor, is a world-renowned gynecological surgeon and founder and medical director of Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). After his study in France, he established the hospital in 1999 as a clinic for gynecological and obstetric care, as he expected to primarily work on maternal health. Immediately after the opening of the hospital, Dr. Mukwege noticed the high number of women in the region who needed treatment of their wounds caused by (gang) rape. His first patient was a survivor of rape whose reproductive organs had been destroyed. Over the years Dr. Mukwege became the world's leading expert on repairing the internal physical damage caused by rape. In October 2012, he was violently attacked and his family was held at gunpoint at his home in an assassination attempt. Joseph Bizimana, his friend and security guard, was killed. The attack came several weeks after a speech at the United Nations where Dr. Mukwege denounced the country s decade-long conflict and called for those responsible to be brought to justice. Dr. Mukwege and his family fled to Europe for a short period of time. Despite continuous threats against him, he returned to Eastern Congo in January 2013 and resumed his work at the hospital, responding to the call from the women of Bukavu. Dr. Mukwege has become a global advocate for gender equality and against the use of rape as a weapon of war. He received numerous international awards for his work, including the UN Human Rights Prize, the Sakharov Prize of the European Parliament, the Olof Palme Prize and the Clinton Global Citizen Award. TIME magazine listed him among the world's 100 most influential persons and the Carter Foundation named him a citizen of the world. Dr. Denis Mukwege Foundation 6

7 About Panzi Hospital Founded in 1999 by Dr. Denis Mukwege, the hospital serves a population of 400,000 as a general hospital with a full range of health services. As violence against the civilian population escalated in the context of the civil war in the region, Dr. Mukwege and his staff dedicated significant resources to healing the wounds of sexual violence. So far, more than 48,000 survivors of sexual violence were cared for at Panzi hospital, making it a leading organization in treating women with fistulas and other complex gynecological injuries. Today the hospital employs 370 doctors, nurses, and support staff. There are 250 beds dedicated specifically to survivors of sexual violence and women in need of complex gynecological care. Each rape survivor at Panzi hospital is accompanied by a social assistant who works to create a tailor made healing pathway. This holistic approach includes physical and psychological care, legal aid, and at a later stage socio-economic support. About 40 to 60 percent of the women treated at Panzi hospital are unable to return to their homes after medical treatment, because of the extent of their injuries, ongoing violence, or, most often, the deep stigma associated with sexual violence. Within the Panzi system, these women receive literacy training, small business management skills and participate in micro-credit programs. To support this holistic model of care, Dr. Mukwege founded the Panzi Foundation DRC. The hospital and the foundation receive funding from the World Bank, the European Union, the Ford Foundation, Norwegian Church Aid and the Steven Lewis Foundation, among others. The Mukwege Foundation collaborates with local and international organizations like UNHCR to take the best practices from Congo and apply the holistic model in other countries. Dr. Denis Mukwege Foundation 7

8 The Mukwege Foundation & Panzi The Mukwege Foundation collaborates with Panzi both in DRC and abroad. It supports the foundation and the hospital in the DRC through fundraising and the development of international partnerships. Together with Panzi, the Mukwege Foundation promotes and implements the holistic model of healing in other countries and advocates to end rape as a weapon of war globally. Dr. Denis Mukwege Special advisor Board Ron Thiemann (chair) Member of Board of Directors, Deltares Wim Jacobs (treasurer) Advisor, Stichting Doen Julie Verhaar Senior Director Fundraising & Engagement, Amnesty International Director Esther Dingemans has worked for the United Nations and various non-governmental organizations in Guinea, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Darfur, Colombia and Syria where she managed humanitarian programs in the field of gender-based violence. Before she joined the Mukwege Foundation as a director, Esther worked with the United Nations High-Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva on strategies to prevent and respond to sexual violence. KvK number: (Dutch chamber of commerce) RSIN number: The Dr. Denis Mukwege Foundation holds ANBI (Algemeen Nut Beogende Instelling/Public Benefit Organisation) status in the Netherlands. Dr. Denis Mukwege Foundation 8

9 Dr. Denis Mukwege Foundation (c) 2017 Laan van Meerdervoort AN The Hague The Netherlands Dr. Denis Mukwege Foundation 9