As a program officer for PHR’s Program on Sexual Violence in Conflict Zones (SVCZ), Léa Reus works with clinicians and partner organizations to strengthen capacities of local institutions to collect, preserve and present at trial forensic evidence of sexual violence using processes that respect and protect human rights. Currently, Reus focuses her work on collectively building advocacy and capacity building strategies with local partner to provide children survivors of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Kenya a trauma-informed and survivors centered access to justice and reparation.
Prior to joining PHR, Reus lived for over 10 years in Latin América where she worked with NGOs, UN programs, and local institutions investigating and litigating cases of human rights violations as international crimes. She was part of teams that investigated and litigated cases of genocide against former heads of state, massacre cases involving torture and sexual violence, and cases of enforced disappearance. More recently, she was a regional researcher on economic, social, and cultural rights at Amnesty International in Mexico where she had the opportunity to cover a variety of human rights issues, including sexual and reproductive rights, Indigenous People rights, and sexual and gender-based violence against children.
Reus holds masters degrees in European Law from the Université de Paris I Sorbonne-Pantheon, and in International Law from Aix-Marseille University, from which she also holds a law degree. Reus has authored and co-authored scholarly articles and practionner handbooks on investigating sexual and gender-based violence and justice mechanisms in Latin America. She is fluent in French and Spanish.