Kinshasa, January 20th, 2026 (CPA),- Trainings have been recommended to equip judicial and police authorities to enable them to carry out investigations and prosecute perpetrators of digital violence, which often targets women, during a discussion on Tuesday in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). « The judicial and police authorities must be trained to effectively investigate and prosecute digital crimes that often expose women and girls, the nature and evidence of which are often complex, » has declared Anna-Jacquie Kitoga, coordinator of the National Technical Secretariat of Resolution 2250 (R2250).
‘It is crucial that the criminal provisions of the Code are effectively enforced to deter abusive behaviour online,’ she has added. This social activist has indicated that DRC has taken an important step forward with the 2023 Digital Code, which provides a legal basis for prosecuting many acts of digital violence. According to her, it is a tool that, if properly applied and disseminated, can greatly contribute to the protection of women online. Ms Kitoga has, in this regard, suggested a number of actions to promote the implementation of this law, including dissemination and awareness-raising.
‘We, civil society actors and experts, call on the Congolese government to step up the dissemination of the Digital Code so that the population, including women and law enforcement agencies, are aware of their rights and the mechanisms for prosecution,’ she has said. The coordinator of the national technical secretariat of R 2250 has explained that DRC has promulgated the Law of March 13th, 2023 on the digital code. « This law, known as the digital code, is the fundamental text that regulates digital activities, cyber security, and cybercrime in the country. Its objective is to establish a trusted legal framework in the Congolese digital space, » she has concluded. The 2023 Digital Code, along with other recent texts, contains provisions that make it possible to combat digital violence and thus protect women and girls, although this protection is not always explicitly gender-focused in all articles.