Sexual corruption in universities in the DRC

Vulnerable and often powerless in the face of lecturers ready to abuse their position, female students are sometimes forced to grant sexual favours in exchange for good marks. Far from being isolated, this has disastrous consequences for their academic and professional ambitions.

At a workshop held on 3 December 2024 at the Pan-African University by the Centre de Recherche sur l’Anti-Corruption (CERC), with support from RCN Justice & Démocratie, students from four universities in Kinshasa shared their experiences.

“This sexual side of corruption in universities, although common, is rarely discussed in the DRC. It is hard to identify and deal with, because it is neither reported nor followed by complaints. That is because Congolese criminal law punishes both the person who offers the bribe and the person who takes it. For fear of being convicted themselves or stigmatised, victims prefer to stay silent.”

Jonathan Musa Nzamu, CERC’s Regional Director for Kinshasa and Kongo Central

At the workshop, 80% of the students surveyed said they had faced an attempt at sexual corruption, often in the form of propositions or blackmail by some academic staff. Men are not spared either: cases of sexual corruption targeting them are nicknamed “2x2x”.

CERC calls for an overhaul of the legal framework to punish these practices, which are an abuse of power, and to protect the victims who report them instead of exposing them to prosecution. The fight for an ethical and respectful university environment must involve all sections of society, because education remains the foundation of a better future for the DRC.