Sexual and Gender-Based Violence

The Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) theme focuses on the incidence and prevalence of violence against women in conflict and post-conflict settings. Polarisation of gender roles, proliferation of weapons, militarisation, and the breakdown of law influence SGBV.

The risk of SGBV is heightened during conflict by aggravating factors, including the polarization of gender roles, the proliferation of arms, the militarization of society, and the breakdown of law and order. The subsequent long-term and complex impacts of SGBV continue to affect individuals and communities after conflict ends.

SGBV is addressed in all five resolutions on Women, Peace and Security. In SCR 1888, the Security Council expresses its intention to ensure peacekeeping mandate resolutions contain provisions on the prevention of, and response to, sexual violence, with corresponding reporting requirements to the Council (OP11). The resolutions deal with protecting women from violence (1820,OP3, 8-10; 1888,OP3,12); strengthening local and national institutions to assist victims of sexual violence (1820,OP13; 1888,OP13); and including strategies to address sexual violence in post-conflict peacebuilding processes (1820,OP11). SCR 1820 also calls for the participation of women in the development of mechanisms intended to protect women from violence (OP10).

Lastly, SCR 1960 creates institutional tools and teeth to combat impunity and outlines specific steps needed for both the prevention of and protection from conflict-related sexual violence. The new “naming and shaming,” listing mechanism mandated in the Resolution is a step forward in bringing justice for victims and a recognition that sexual violence is a serious violation of human rights and international law.

Addressing SGBV is an integral aspect of the overall Women, Peace and Security agenda. SGBV affects the health and safety of women, and also has significant impact on economic and social stability. The Security Council recognises that sexual violence can threaten international peace and security, and that it is frequently used as a tactic of war to dominate, humiliate, terrorise, and displace.

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BLOG: Day 1: Changing Attitudes Towards Rape

Subjugating women of the enemy or of ‘the other', through sexual violence is a commonly used tactic, which implies that the women are no more than chattel. This is as much true of inter-State Conflicts as of intra-State conflicts. Yet what was recently witnessed in India in the recent genocidal attacks by Hindus against Muslims in 2002 passes all belief.

PANEL DISCUSSION: Violence Against Women – From Peace in the Home to Peace in the World


Moderated Panel Discussion - Violence Against Women, From Peace in the Home to Peace in the World

International Women's Development Agency

Thursday, November 29, 2012 from 7:30 AM to 8:30 AM
Melbourne, Victoria

STATEMENT: Ending Gender-Based Violence in Times of Crisis

This year, UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women with a focus on the impact of ongoing conflicts and natural disasters on violence against women.

STATEMENT: Asia Pacific Women's Watch Statement to CSW 57th Session

Asia Pacific Women's Watch (APWW) is a regional network representing voices from across the five sub-regions of Asia and the Pacific. APWW welcomes the priority theme for the fifty-seventh session of the Commission on the Status of Women, “Elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls'.

BLOG: Raped Every Day for Nine Months

Gang raped by seven men

My name is Mado Nzigire, 33years old, from Bukavu district from Democratic Republic of Congo, one evening I was busy preparing supper for my family when armed men stormed my compound. They collected all my family members together, and then they started raping me one by one until the seventh rebel got his turn.

ANALYSIS: The Word on Women - Why it is Important to Integrate Human Rights into International Policy-Making

In the wake of recent visits to the UK by both the Indonesian and Liberian Heads of State, Equality Now highlights the importance of integrating human rights issues - particularly those which affect women and girls - into policies relating to international trade and financial aid.

SYMPOSIUM: Women and Genocide in the 21st Century

Women and Genocide in the 21st Century: The Case of Darfur

Saturay, October 27 - Sunday, October 28

BLOG: The Badass Women of Darfur

Niemat Ahmadi is a quiet badass. She is a native of North Darfur, founder and president of Darfur Women Action Group and the director of Global Partnerships for United to End Genocide and has been a friend and colleague for many years. She is soft-spoken but passionate when it comes to her country and the atrocities that are still being committed there.

CONFERENCE: Ottawa Conference Raises Awareness of Sexual Violence in the Congo

Rampant sexual violence against women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was the sobering topic of a conference held Saturday morning at the Bronson Centre in Ottawa.

“We've invited you to a very serious morning—not an easy morning,” said organizer Daniel Stringer as he opened the conference, called Breaking the Silence on Sexual Violence in the Congo.

STATEMENT: Protest Statement against Sexual Assault by US Sailors and Demand for Withdrawal of US Military from Okinawa

Hirokazu Nakaima, Govenor of Okinawa Prefecture
Yoshihiko Noda, Prime Minister
Koichiro Genba, Foreign Minister
Satoshi Morimoto, Defense Minister
Barack Obama, President of the United States
John V. Roos, U.S. Ambassador to Japan
Kenneth Glueck, Okinawa Area Coordinator and Commanding General of III Marine Expeditionary Force
Alfred Magleby, U.S. Consul General of Naha, Okinawa

October 17, 2012

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