On Tuesday, the first ever Congressional hearings were held to address the issue of rape being used as a tactic of war. This problem is prominent in war-devastated countries, particularly the Democratic Republic of Congo, which was the focus of the hearings. The Subcommittee on Human Rights and Law argued that those responsible for rape and sexual assaults against women in the Congo need to be persecuted. To further enforce their points, scenes from the new documentary "The Greatest Silence" were shown. Senator Durbin, who chaired the hearings, expressed his disdain towards the U.S. for failing to take action on these issues:

"I'm sorry to say that if a foreign warlord who is engaged in mass rape found his way to the US today, he'd likely be beyond the reach of our laws. That is shameful. If we fail to close these loopholes, we will allow these crimes to continue with impunity."

Better late than never, I suppose. Full article here.