Duchess Sophie moves to tears as she issues statement on heartbreaking trauma

Duchess Sophie took a bold initiative during her visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The Duchess of Edinburgh issued an emotional statement on heartbreaking trauma as she met survivors of conflict-related rape during a four-day trip to the country.

The royal urged that sexual violence must be allowed to “get under your skin.”

She aimed to “shine a light” on the “weaponisation of rape” and to acknowledge the organisations helping those who have endured sexual violence in war zones.

On Monday, Prince Edward's wife landed in Beni, in the east of the DRC, where she listened to harrowing testimony. 

The Duchess held back tears as a 16-year-old girl told her that she had been attacked by a police officer, while another woman described being assaulted as she fled rebel fighters.

Sophie, who's mother of Lady Louise Windsor, 21, and James, Earl of Wessex, 17, removed her shoes to sit with survivors in a tent, some of whom broke down in tears while sharing their experiences.

At the Panzi Clinic in Kinshasa, the beloved royal also observed Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr Denis Mukwege carry out surgery on a five-year-old girl who had been raped.

The facility specialises in supporting victims of sexual violence in conflict. Sophie was accompanied at the clinic by the UK’s ambassador to the DRC, Alyson King.

The Duchess told reporters: “You have to really question yourself and go, ‘How can we have reached a point where rape is just accepted as a part of daily life?’

“So it’s horrible to hear their stories, but each one deserves to be told and each one deserves recognition, so I don’t make light of any of them, and I just wish we didn’t have to hear them, but it’s important that we do,” she said with tears in her eyes.