And according to a 2010 report, 46% of Congolese schoolgirls in a national study confirmed that they had been victims of sexual harassment, abuse, and violence committed by their teachers or other school personnel.
A large portion of those interviewed were from the previous government forces, the FARDC.
According to several studies conducted in 2011, intimate partner sexual violence is the most pervasive form of violence against women in all areas of the DRC.
During junior high, she started traveling by train to Manhattan for private acting lessons.
A successful soldier, they said, was an educated one who "sat behind a desk and completed administrative work".
Although Congolese law criminalizes many forms of sexual violence, these laws are not always enforced.
War, violence, and instability have ravaged the DRC for decades, and this has led to a culture of violence in war and civilian life that often takes its form in a sexual nature.
Her late father, Ira, worked as an engineer and then went into business as a general contractor.