In spite of those institutional gains, sexual violence in conflict remains on...

In spite of those institutional gains, sexual violence in conflict remains one of the most egregious forms of human rights violations. Its impact goes far beyond an individual victim's pain and stigma. Even more troubling is the fact that sexual violence is often used as a tactic of armed conflict. As noted in the report of the Secretary-General (S/2014/181), sexual violence is wielded to attack specific ethnic and religious groups, used to displace civilians and unleashed to encourage predatory behaviour. The international community must scale up its collective efforts to combat the scourge, especially in the three areas of prevention, protection and prosecution.