On this subject matter, the DRC Constitution stipulates that human life is sacred, that the right to healthcare is guaranteed by the State, that every individual has the right to education and all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. The translation into practice of these constitutional principles is carried out systematically among the people, who on the whole, respect human life and aspire, more or less intensely, to attain equity and gender equality. 158. In spite of this collective aspiration, there are however some harmful practices inflicted on women, young girls and little girls within the communities in the DRC. These practices, as identified by gender activists across the country, include, among others: (i) early marriages of girls, marriage by abduction, (ii) girls dropping out of school, (iii) prostitution of young girls, (iv) sexual violence and abuse of widows, etc. As a matter of fact, the young women and girls are particularly victims of early sexuality for various reasons: more than 51% of marriages in the DRC are carried out with girls under 18 years old; more than 45% of girls between the ages of 16 and 18 years have sex with adults. The early sexual intercourse among girls can be explained by the fact that some girls, due to poverty engage in prostitution at a very young age. The effect of the early marriage among young girls is that they drop out of school and some parents give them out in marriage due to the benefits they derive from the payment of dowry, which action is also a consequence of the harsh economic circumstances. 159. Moreover, the war and the recent conflicts in the country have led to other forms of negative practices inflicted on women, besides those that were prevalent in the various traditions. Practices such as sexual mutilations exist on a very small scale in ritual form and it is difficult to detect, particularly in the north of the country, more specifically among the NGWAKA in the former Equateur province. However, since the outbreak of the war in the East of the country, many sexual mutilation cases have been reported. Reports received at the PANZI hospital where survivors of sexual violence are taken care of in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, reveal that most of the survivors treated in this hospital have not only been raped, but that their genital parts have often been mutilated. This practice is frequent and their abusers resort to it in order to increase the women’s risk of contracting HIV/AIDS and thereby making it impossible for them to give birth. 160. To address this situation, the government has initiated some legislative reforms:  The two Laws of 20 July, 2006 on sexual violence provide sanctions against perpetrators of harmful practices such as sexual mutilation, exploitation of minors for purposes of debauchery, pimping, forced prostitution, harassment and sexual slavery, forced marriage, harassment and sexual slavery, forced marriage, zoophilia, deliberate transmission of sexually transmitted infections, child trafficking and exploitation for sexual purposes, pregnancy and forced sterilization, prostitution and pornography nvolving children.  Article 407 of the Family Code has set the age of marriage at 18, even though the ideal vision of marriage compels dome girls to enter into marriage at a very early age so as not to miss the opportunity, especially in a situation where the parents are poor. For the State, no official can celebrate marriage for which both spouses or one of them is under 18.  Stereotyping of women (Article 4(2) (c)) 161. The DRC is a vast country with continental dimensions comprising more than 450 ethnic groups whose cultures differ from one another. This cultural diversity would also be the basis of different forms of stereotypes of women. Indeed, the perception of the role and place of the woman differs somewhat from one culture to another. In the DRC, there are stereotypes, some of which enhance the value of women while others degrade them, but generally, most of them tend to look down on them. 162. In order to identify the root causes of violence against women, assess their consequences 37