This past summer, Ben Affleck visited people in displacement camps and clinics in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in central Africa. He traveled with ABC’s Nightline to find out what’s happening in the war-ravaged Congo. This was his third visit to the DRC to learn about the armed conflict that has left 5.4 million people dead and three million others homeless, according to International Medical Corps (IMC).

Affleck not only appeared on Nightline, but he also kept a video diary and wrote an essay about his experience. As cynical as it may sound, Affleck realizes that some people will pay more attention to the atrocities happening in places like the DRC if a celebrity talks about them. Maybe you’re wondering, And why does this matter to me? Because teens just like us are dealing with sexual violence that we can’t even imagine.

Sexual and Gender-Based Violence

One 14-year-old rape survivor who spoke with Affleck now has a baby. She was raped by soldiers who said they would shoot her if she resisted.

In the DRC, rape survivors often report being gang-raped. And more and more frequently, adult survivors are sexually tortured and mutilated. They are then left to die. Many teen rape survivors are kidnapped and forced to become sex slaves. The United Nations calls these kinds of violent assaults against women and children “sexual and gender-based violence.”

There are many consequences of sexual and gender-based violence, and pregnancy is just one of them. Many rape survivors become infected with HIV and eventually die from complications of AIDS. This is especially distressing, because there are clinics in the DRC that offer treatments that can be enormously effective in preventing HIV infection. The drugs, however, need to be taken within two to three days of the rape to be effective.

But it’s difficult for a woman who’s brave enough to seek medical care to get to a clinic in three days, because travel across the country is so dangerous and most of it is done by foot.

Power over the Vulnerable

Rape is not about sex. It is about soldiers exerting power over vulnerable people. It is about sending a message through intimidation. It is a form of torture that often leaves women seriously injured—both physically and emotionally. And the stigma of rape is sometimes enough to prevent survivors from attempting to go to a clinic to try to get treatment. This is what the armed groups who rape women want; they want life to be so miserable for their victims that they won’t even try to resist them.

Rape happens everywhere. But in the DRC, there are few civil authorities and judicial structures in place to punish perpetrators.

What You Can Do

While it may take someone like Ben Affleck to get us to pay attention, now that we know, there are ways to help. Many high schools and colleges have clubs that raise money and awareness for charitable organizations. If your school doesn’t have a club like this, round up a couple of your friends, find an academic advisor for your club and get permission from your school to get started.

You can raise money by doing something as simple as having a bake sale or a book drive. You can then support organizations like IMC, which identify and treat sexual violence survivors. IMC also trains health care staff to recognize and provide mental health services to survivors and to help stabilize survivors’ families in the DRC, including through economic livelihoods programs.

We read magazines and sympathize with overweight celebrities and people with eating disorders. We cry when we see images of polar bears and baby seals struggling to survive in the Arctic. Empathy is good, but taking action to help people like you and me is even better.

For more information about International Medical Corps’ humanitarian work around the world and how you can help, go to IMCWorldwide.org.