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.

For more resources on this Critical Issue, visit PeaceWomen Resource Center >>

Stop Violence Against Women: A Project of the Advocates for Human Rights

The Stop Violence Against Women website (STOPVAW) is a forum for information, advocacy and change in the promotion of women's human rights in countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Learn More

STATEMENT: Amnesty International Statement at Human Rights Council Panel Discussion on Conflict-Related Violence Against Women

UN Human Rights Council
Seventeenth Session
30 May – 17 June 2011

Item 3

Panel discussion on conflict-related violence against women

Madam High Commissioner, Mr. President, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

SUDAN: Sudan- The 'Conflict is Inflaming Every Hour'

Sudan's invasion of the town Abeyi; sexual harassment in Egypt; the impact of Egypt's uprising on migrants; the detention of Syrian blogger Amina Arraf; Western Sahara; and the opening of the a centre for women in Eastern Congo, the City of Joy, are among the topics featured in this week's review of African blogs, by Sokari Ekine.

Women from Around the World Condemn Attack on Peaceful Protesters in Iraq and Call for an End to Sexual Assault of Women Protesters

To add your organization or individual name to the list of signatories, email madre@madre.org.

We, feminist activists from around the world, stand in support of our sisters and brothers peacefully demonstrating for basic rights in Baghdad's Tahrir Square.

LAUNCH: End Congo Rape Website

Forty-eight women are raped every hour in the Congo. Alarmed by such statistics, a group of media colleagues launched a website shedding light on the horrors Congolese women experience daily. The team is composed of three Canadians and one German, all master's degree candidates at the University for Peace located in Costa Rica.

CEDAW Statement Urging Iraq's Interim Government to Ensure Gender Equality

The following statement was issued today by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW):

VIDEO: There is a Women's Spring Beginning

A newly published study in the American Journal of Public Health estimates more than two million women have been raped in the Democratic Republic of Congo since 2006. But women's advocates say there is also positive news coming from the DRC.

VIDEO: BBC Assignment: Ugandan Women Tricked into Domestic Slavery in Iraq

In the documentary, Ugandan women tricked into domestic slavery in Iraq, the BBC's Anna Cavell investigates how a group of 147 Ugandan women were lured into Iraq.

The women were told they would get decent jobs with the U.S. military. Instead, they found themselves working as slaves, subject to violence and even rape. Eventually, they were rescued by an unlikely pair -- a Ugandan security guard and an American military officer.

BLOG: Sex Trafficking in Nepal; It's a Global Problem

I was privileged to sit in on an intimate lunch with Anuradha Koirala, the founder of Maiti Nepal. The foundation has rescued 12,000 Nepali girls and young women from sex trafficking, many who were sold across the border to brothels in India. Koirala was also the CNN Hero for 2010.

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