Romantic relationship in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Depending on the province, city or rural area, language, religion, age, gender, ethnic setting, conflict situation, and displacement, meeting someone, living together, and separating can differ considerably. In everyday life, people use terms such as romantic relationship (relation amoureuse), couple, engagement (fiançailles), and unmarried union (union libre) or cohabitation; these terms may be used differently depending on the language area and social setting. Families, religious communities, traditional authorities, and a person's personal environment may influence partner choice and the transition to engagement or marriage. A romantic relationship alone does not create a separate legal status in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Constitution guarantees the right to marry a person of one's choice. A marriage, however, arises through the prescribed civil and public legal act between a man and a woman; under the Family Code, a purely religious union has no independent effects as a state-recognized marriage. Dating or unmarried cohabitation therefore does not automatically create marital duties of support, fidelity, or property obligations. Protection from coercion, sexual violence, and other violence applies regardless of whether a marriage exists. Consent must be voluntary and ongoing. Gender-based and intimate-partner violence remain significant risks. An older survey reported physical or sexual violence by a former or current partner among 36.8 percent of women and girls aged 15 to 49 who had ever been in a relationship; the underlying surveys date from 2000 to 2018. According to the information available, reported cases of gender-based violence rose from 47,502 in 2018 to 119,394 in 2022. These figures may also have been influenced by improved reporting and changes in service provision and do not automatically describe the current frequency in every province. Engagement or marriage involving a child under 18 is prohibited. Child-protection law makes it a criminal offence to give a child in marriage or to force a child into it. A 2015–2016 survey reported that 29.1 percent of women aged 20 to 24 had married or lived in a marriage-like union before their 18th birthday; this figure is time-specific and should not be read as a current provincial rate. In cases of danger or violence, the police, public prosecutor's office, health services, and specialized support services may be options depending on the location. Support may include medical, psychosocial, legal, and social assistance; however, one-stop centres, legal advice, health centres, youth organizations, mobile services, and safe spaces are not available everywhere. Confidentiality, stigma, retaliation, language, transport, the security situation, and delays in referrals affect access. A general guarantee of free services or a uniform timeframe therefore cannot be given. Separation after dating or unmarried cohabitation is usually informal and has no separate nationwide application or registration procedure. In cases of violence, a safety plan, safe accommodation, protection of children, money, private data, and digital accounts come first. In a formal marriage, and in matters involving children, parentage, custody, or property, courts and family law may have jurisdiction. Children born outside marriage may trigger special deadlines and procedures for establishing legal parentage; these consequences belong to family and civil law, not to a separate status of the romantic relationship.