"Let's listen to one another."
That's what the word toyokana means in Lingala, a local language in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
At the Toyokana Center in the capital city of Kinshasa, listening is their mission. It's a facility for girls to come to be treated after sexual assault — and also to be heard.
"Creating this kind of a safe space was really the main demand from these girls," says Loa Falone, a social worker at the center.
After years of working with young girls, Falone has seen that many cases of sexual violence occur within families. "A girl who was raped by her father won't know in whom she can confide, whether her mom or someone else, she just won't know if she can feel safe to do that," says Falone. "There was really a strong desire to have a safe space where these girls will be heard, protected and taken care of."
The idea for the Toyokana center grew out of a 2022 gathering of 100 girls and young women from all corners of the DRC and several other African countries. For three days, the participants — ages 13 to 24 — discussed the challenges they faced. Sexual violence kept coming up.
"Almost all of those girls were either survivors of sexual violence or they were in very close proximity," says Ramatou Toure, chief of child protection at UNICEF DRC who helped organize the girls forum. "I'm talking sister, mother, cousin of a child who had been abused."
That anecdotal sense is backed up by a report from UNICEF that suggests the problem has only grown worse. "Sexual violence against children has been on the rise for the past four years," says Toure. Last year, more than 45,000 cases of sexual violence against children were recorded, she says, though the true toll is likely much higher because of a reluctance to come forward or just not having an adult they feel they can confide in.
NPR sought comment from the DRC government about the report, but they did not answer questions in time for publication.
In large part, ongoing conflict in parts of eastern DRC is driving the increase, says Toure. Fighting has forced about 7 million people from their homes to camps where rape is common, she says. "But even in provinces where there is no conflict, we find sexual violence."
Here, as elsewhere, urban poverty and child marriage contribute to the problem. Many perpetrators go unpunished too, says Toure, creating a sense of helplessness that leads to silence.
"There is this sense that they will not be able to come forward, they will not be able to speak," says Toure. "Unfortunately, it also means that they will not be able to get the services that they need."
A safe space
That's where Toyokana Center comes in. It's cited in the UNICEF report as an example of a positive step the government has taken to address the problem.
Some of the girls who come to the center need direct medical attention for physical trauma. Psychological support is also available for victims who develop severe depression, post-traumatic stress and anxiety. Going through that alone can be incredibly isolating, says Annie Kikoli, a therapist in Goma, DRC.
A child who's been raped "tells herself that, well, I endured this event, so that means I'm not like other people. I've lost my abilities. The child starts to have a negative image of herself," she says. "The more the person stays isolated, the more they start developing abnormal behavior."
The staff at Toyokana try to intervene before that happens. But it can be challenging.
"There are children who are so quiet, they have a really hard time saying who hurt them and what happened," says Falone. During group sessions where girls talk about their experiences, the staff pay close attention to those who aren't talking. "Maybe we notice a girl who reacts differently in that moment, or her eyes get all bloodshot," she says, "We approach her discreetly and take her to another room where she opens up."
Some of the girls are dealing with other challenges, in addition to experiencing sexual violence, which can make treatment harder too. Toyokana supervisor Georgette Uma recalls one girl who came through their doors after multiple sexual assaults. In addition to being severely traumatized, she couldn't read or write.
At the center, staff offer informal help with those skills. "She learned how to read, how to write. This strengthened her," says Uma. "Today, she's become a model for the girls who are still on the streets."
More help is needed
Since opening, Toyokana's two centers in Kinshasa have treated over 100,000 girls who've experienced or been exposed to sexual violence. But Uma says so much more support is necessary to meet the scale of need across the country. "It would be better if our work were widespread," she says, especially in areas of conflict.
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But the resources to expand this kind of work are shrinking. Last year's drastic funding foreign assistance cuts by the U.S. and other Western countries essentially halved funding for clinics like Toyokana in DRC, says UNICEF's Toure. According to her, the amount dropped from $18 million in 2024 to $10 million in 2025. "We have seen a lot of the local programs for sexual violence being disrupted or completely stopped in terms of funding," she says.
"This is quite a pity, because what we've seen in the areas where there is services is that if we come together, it's possible to prevent and it's also possible to actually respond to sexual violence," she says.
Peace in eastern DRC would go a long way toward keeping kids safe from sexual violence, says Toure, as would strengthening the country's criminal justice system to make perpetrators accountable.
Solving those larger structural problems could take years. But smaller-scale efforts, like Toyokana, can still make a difference, says Toure. "It's not a hopeless case, on the contrary."
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