The damage caused by the use of sexual violence as a tactic of war is far rea...

The damage caused by the use of sexual violence as a tactic of war is far reaching. It goes beyond the immediate impact experienced by the individual. It goes beyond the families fragmented by such acts. The scars are deep and are borne by society as a whole. Such acts manifest abhorrent attitudes to women, threaten the progress made toward socioeconomic equality and impede women's participation in peace and democratic processes. An attack involving sexual violence is indeed an attack on peace, stability and development. If we do not arrest that trend, we risk the normalization of sexual violence as a method of war. Such an outcome cannot be countenanced, and Nigeria is accordingly committed to the resolution we have just adopted as the next step towards ending sexual violence in conflict.