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The Panzi Foundation

The Panzi Foundation

Dr. Denis Mukwege established the Panzi Foundation in 2008 after recognizing the need to go beyond medical treatment and provide holistic services to survivors of sexual violence.

The Panzi Foundation legal clinics were founded a year later with the aim of providing legal and judicial services to survivors of rape and other forms of gender-based violence in the province of South Kivu.

Since its inception, the legal clinics have provided judicial assistance to over 1,800 women and obtained over 300 prosecutions, sending over 100 rapists and sexual violence perpetrators to jail.

Over the last five years, ECI has partnered with the Panzi Foundation to provide legal services to survivors of sexual violence in rural areas, assist paralegals, court workers and rural police to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their work, as well as to advocate against a culture of impunity around the issue of sexual violence.

During this time, ECI and the Panzi Foundation have been able to help almost 600 survivors of sexual violence take their cases to court. Over 450 domestic disputes have been mediated, supporting peaceful conflict resolution and dialogue.

Over 100 women have received urgent medical care, and nearly 70 legal professionals have been trained to better provide legal assistance to survivors of sexual violence and marginalized communities.

In 2015, ECI worked with the Panzi Foundation to provide legal support in cases of domestic violence, access to land and other civil cases to over 100 women. Together we also opened three new legal clinics in South Kivu.

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