Small arms are the common tools of violence today; they are cheap, light, and very easy to carry.

The possession of small arms alone may not create the conflicts in which they are used, but when they are gathered over time the fear of insecurity grows higher within the community and this can lead to long-term violence.

For the past 16 years at the Panzi Hospital in the Democratic Republic of Congo, my staff and I have been treating women who have been victimized by sexual violence, which has been systematically used as a weapon of war in the armed conflict that has ravaged our country. Rape is one of the most deadly weapons of war, destroying families and communities and future generations, as well as the women brutally targeted.

In every country, women from all walks of life experience violence, abuse and exploitation. But all women are not equally vulnerable to men's violence as the phrase “violence against women” somehow implies.

Some women and girls are more vulnerable to violence especially those who are poor, indigenous, migrants, ethnic minorities, widows, and living with disabilities for instance.

War is an international business based on profits and the proliferation of weapons. Yet this reality is not addressed by the policy tools we have today.

It is difficult to differentiate between violence committed by State actors, violence supported by the State and violence committed by private security agents.

In all cases, the lack of state accountability and the failure to bring perpetrators of sexual and gender-based violence (GBV) to justice remains a critical challenge to ending this form of violence.

Colombia is considered the most violent country in South America. Violence against women is a phenomenon that is historically tied to the country's culture and the construction of its identity. This acts to normalise violence and seriously affect the rights of women.

The news announced earlier this week that rebels from the M23 movement had finally withdrawn from the DRC city of Goma, was met with much relief. But what does this withdrawal really mean for the DRC – in particular for women, who face a shocking rate of sexual violence, as victims of the ongoing conflict?

The local Geneva press seems not to have caught up with the 16-day world campaign to stop violence against women. At least I have not seen any reference to it although a good number of non-governmental organizations located in Geneva, among them WILPF International, are actively engaged in this world-wide campaign.

The African Union declared this decade, 2010-2020 as the African Women's Decade. In Africa, political leaders have signed on to a range of human rights treaties and declarations of commitment, including CEDAW, Resolution 1325 and Resolution 1820. The Maputo Protocol specifies that there should be clear protections for women from sexual violence in situations of armed conflict.

On 26 November, WILPF's Yemeni partners, HRITC, ran the second workshop in a series in our MENA 1325 project focusing on women, peace and security in the Arab uprisings. About 60 people attended the workshop and at least a third was men.