FROM THE QUEST FOR JUSTICE TO EXTERNAL REGULATION: VULNERABILITY FACTORS AND THE CRISIS OF SELF-DETERMINATION AMONG VICTIMS OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN KISANGANI

Authors: Kassongo Inena Ghislain, Otita Likongo Marcel, Mukieke Tshite Augustin & Loosa Bolamba Sébastien

ABSTRACT

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and more specifically in the city of Kisangani, the process of seeking justice for victims of sexual violence (VSV) faces not only institutional barriers but also complex psychological and socio-cultural structures. Drawing upon Edward L. Deci and Richard M. Ryan’s Self-Determination Theory (SDT), this article analyzes how lineage pressures and the systematic recourse to out-of-court settlements alienate the autonomy of survivors. Using a rigorous qualitative methodology based on purposive sampling (n = 30 cases from the Prince Alwaleed Reference Health Center and the Legal Clinics of Kisangani), combined with the triangulation of semi-structured interviews, this research demonstrates that the choice of customary transactions (out-of-court settlements) stems from motivation driven by external regulation. The victim finds herself forced to abdicate her decision-making autonomy to preserve her basic need for social relatedness, thereby avoiding ostracism within a highly collectivist community, while the formal judicial system causes secondary victimization that annihilates her sense of competence.

Keywords: Self-determination, Autonomy, Sexual violence, External regulation, Community relatedness, Out-of-court settlements.

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