US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to tackle the issue of mass rape in war-torn DR Congo when she meets President Joseph Kabila later.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has demanded an end to widespread sexual abuse in war-ravaged eastern DR Congo, during a visit to the country.
Mrs Clinton spoke out during a tour of a crowded refugee camp in the eastern city of Goma.
Earlier, following talks with Congolese President Joseph Kabila, she said there should be no impunity for the perpetrators of sexual violence.
The UN estimates 3,500 women have been raped in DR Congo so far this year.
And in a report released to coincide with Mrs Clinton's visit, the aid agency Oxfam said it had monitored 20 communities and found that children, some as young as four, had been raped in half of them.
Men have also been the victims of rape.
The BBC's Will Ross, in Nairobi, says perpetrators go unpunished and that sexual attacks have increased since January, when a government offensive was launched against rebels linked to Rwanda's genocide.
Mrs Clinton, on a seven-nation African tour, has focused on women's issues and violence against women during her time in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Mrs Clinton, on a seven-nation African tour, has focused on women's issues and violence against women during her time in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
A recent upsurge in fighting in the mineral-rich east of the country has seen a huge rise in the rate of rapes.
A recent upsurge in fighting in the mineral-rich east of the country has seen a huge rise in the rate of rapes.
The UN estimates 3,500 women have been raped since the start of the year.
And in a report released to coincide with Mrs Clinton's visit, the aid agency Oxfam says it has monitored 20 communities and found that children, some as young as four, have been raped in half of them.
The charity also found cases of male rape.
Need for shame
More than four million people were killed in DR Congo between 1998 and 2003, when armies from several countries fought each other on Congolese territory.
More than four million people were killed in DR Congo between 1998 and 2003, when armies from several countries fought each other on Congolese territory.
She begged the rebels to rape her children first and finish with her because she had HIV/Aids Anti-rape activist Leah Chishugi Clinton appeal on Congo conflict
Violence has flared up several times since and intensified in January, when the government launched an offensive against rebel forces linked to Rwanda and Uganda.
So far this year hundreds of people have been killed and 800,000 forced from their homes.
Mrs Clinton will meet Mr Kabila in the eastern town of Goma, a city at the heart of the conflict.
In the run-up to the meeting, Mrs Clinton has already talked of the need to tackle the issue of sexual violence.
Clinton: "My husband is not secretary of state, I am."
"People need to be not only ashamed if they commit rape and other sexual violence, but they need to be arrested and prosecuted and punished so that it serves as a strong message that this will not be tolerated," she told local radio.
Leah Chishugi, a campaigner on behalf of rape victims in DR Congo, says Mrs Clinton should urge UN troops to do more to protect women.
And she says sexual violence is helping to spread HIV.
"I came across a woman who said she was with her children in her house - they were 12 and 14," she told the BBC's Network Africa programme.
"She begged the rebels to rape her children first and finish with her because she had HIV/Aids. But she was crying because they didn't listen."
Recent successes
Analysts say the US and the rest of the international community realise that if stability can be brought to DR Congo it could have a positive impact on a vast swathe of Africa.
The country borders eight other nations, and its conflicts have frequently spilled over its borders.
The US is a major aid donor and has helped the country in some of its recent successes like the elections of 2006 and the thawing of relations with Rwanda.
Mrs Clinton has already visited South Africa, Kenya and Angola as part of the trip - her longest foreign tour since taking office.
She is also due to visit Nigeria, Liberia and Cape Verde.
