PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Henry Herrera
Phone: +1-301-801-0608
Email: info@menandboys.net
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Men and Boys Suffer in Silence — Urgent Action Needed
June 20, 2025 – In the DRC, critical challenges affecting men and boys including health, education, and violence—continue to unfold largely unnoticed.
Education:
While girls have historically struggled for access to education, today in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, boys are falling behind. Literacy rates for females aged 15 and older have climbed to 77%, compared to just 66.5% for males (1). In 2020, for every 100 boys finishing lower secondary education, 106 girls did so—a widening 6% gap in favor of girls (2).
Health:
Congolese men are dying younger than women. As of 2023, male life expectancy was just 59.79 years—over four years less than for women (64.04) (3). Mortality rates show a similar gap: in 2022, 328.12 of every 1,000 adult men died, compared to 249.97 for women (4).
Homicide:
Men bear the brunt of violent crime. The 2019 homicide rate was nearly four times higher for males (20.3 per 100,000) than for females (5.4) (5).
Suicide:
Men in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are more than three times as likely to die by suicide: 13.7 per 100,000 vs. 3.9 for women (6)(7).
Intimate Partner Violence:
Violence isn’t one-sided. While 42% of women report experiencing some form of interpersonal violence, 31% of men do as well. Underreporting among male survivors—driven by stigma—suggests real numbers are likely much higher. Men were also more likely to report being beaten (32% vs. 19% of women) and to suffer depression as a result (14% vs. 1%) (8).
Workplace:
Nearly 95% of workplace accidents involve male workers, especially in male-dominated industries like mining, which accounts for over half of all incidents (9).
Conclusion:
These challenges are part of a global problem. Congolese leaders must act now to address these overlooked gender disparities.
The International Council for Men and Boys is a non-governmental organization that is working to celebrate the contributions of men to society and to end the 12 sex disparities that affect men and boys around the world. Achieving #GenderEqualityForMen also will benefit women. https://www.menandboys.net/
Links:
1.https://data.unwomen.org/country/democratic-republic-of-the-congo
2.https://reportcards.malala.org/countries/democratic-republic-of-congo/?utm
5.https://apps.who.int/violence-info/country/CD/
6.https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.STA.SUIC.FE.P5?locations=CD
7.https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.STA.SUIC.MA.P5?locations=CD
9.https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation?paperid=119251