As part of the annual 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, Ius Stella conducted an exploratory study among two groups of women whose lived experiences remain largely absent from public policy and justice reform debates: female university students and women market traders in Kinshasa’s popular markets. The report, Legal Needs of Women in Kinshasa, highlights a shared finding across both groups: gender and socio-economic status continue to shape who can effectively claim rights and access remedies.
In Kinshasa, women are central to social life, education, and the economy. They study, work, support their families, and contribute every day to the survival of thousands of households. Yet for many, access to justice remains uncertain, distant, or entirely out of reach.
On university campuses, many female students report experiences of harassment, gender-based violence, abuse of authority, and online violence. While some indicate that they are aware of their rights, very few know where to turn in practice when those rights are violated. Fear of academic retaliation, stigma, and mistrust of existing mechanisms contribute to widespread silence and significant underreporting of abuse.
In markets, women traders operate in an equally precarious environment. Largely active in the informal sector and lacking clear legal status, they are exposed to arbitrary confiscations of goods, abusive fines, daily harassment, and repeated violence by public agents. For these women, often heads of household, the loss of merchandise translates into an immediate loss of income and acute economic insecurity.
Despite these different settings, the underlying dynamics are strikingly similar: unequal power relations, opaque or costly procedures, limited access to effective remedies, and fear of reprisals. Through their responses, women articulate clear and converging needs:
- Accessible and trusted community-based justice;
- Clear, practical information about their rights and available remedies;
- Effective protection against violence and abuse; and
- Free legal support rooted in their everyday spaces, whether on campus or in the markets.
These expectations reflect a strong and consistent demand: They no longer want to face injustice alone.
Building on these findings, the report puts forward concrete and actionable recommendations to strengthen women’s access to justice. These include:
- The creation of support mechanisms on university campuses offering legal assistance, psychosocial support, and secure reporting channels ;
- The establishment of regular legal aid clinics in markets to inform women traders, document abuses, and facilitate access to remedies ;
- Progressive support for the formalisation of economic activities combined with training in business management and economic rights ; and
- Conducting a larger-scale study to generate representative data on women’s legal needs in Kinshasa and, in the longer term, across the Democratic Republic of Congo.
This report matters because it goes beyond documenting violations.
It provides an evidence base for action, advocacy, and dialogue with public authorities, universities, and technical and financial partners.
And it underscores a fundamental truth: without meaningful access to justice, women’s rights, safety, and economic autonomy remain deeply fragile.
You can download the full report here.