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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CANADA: Circle of Hope on Missing and Murdered Women

HALIFAX - First Nation leaders, women's groups, elders and youth today gathered in a Circle of Hope in Halifax today, offering a special tribute to missing and murdered Indigenous women during the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Annual General Assembly taking place at the Halifax World Trade and Convention Centre this week.

LIBERIA: UN, Liberia Shining Light On Ending Violence Against Women

On Tuesday July, 15, 2014, two of the United Nations System Agencies, the Joint Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) and the UN Peacekeeping Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) in collaboration with the Government of Liberia (GOL) through the Ministry of Gender and Development (MOGD)-SGBV Joint Program launched a new campaignin Monrovia named: "Shining the Light on ending violence against women" and empowering them to remain free from HIV.

INTERNATIONAL: Female Mutilation a Means of Male Power Over Women - UN Rights Chief

Female genital mutilation, the excision of the clitoris practised widely in African and many Muslim countries, is a means for men to maintain control of women and must be eradicated, U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay said on Monday.

AFGHANISTAN: Tackling Gender-Based Violence in Afghanistan

Anar Gul, 16, wept as she waited outside the Afghan ministry of women's affairs in Kabul with her parents. Swathed in a blue burka, she told the painful story of her marriage two months earlier in her home province of Bamian in central Afghanistan. Soon after the wedding, her husband began inviting other men to the house and charged them money to have sex with her.

CAMBODIA: New Guidelines Aim to Protect Women, Children

A 100-page set of guidelines for the legal protection of the rights of women and children was launched by the Ministry of Women's Affairs in Phnom Penh on Thursday in a bid to address shortfalls in how the judicial system handles cases such as rape, domestic violence and sexual harassment.

INDONESIA: Indonesia Calls for Concrete Steps to End Violence Against Women

Indonesia has underscored the need for the international community to take concrete steps to put an end to violence against women and children in conflict-plagued areas, remarked Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa.

Marty made the remarks at the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict Areas held in London on June 12-13.

MYANMAR: New Approaches Needed to Help Survivors of Rape in Burma

As well as preventing sexual violence, assisting survivors of sexual violence in conflict has been a big theme at the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, held in London this week. I was invited to take part in an expert panel on this subject at the summit, along with senior officials from the United Nations.

KASHMIR: 2014 witnesses rise in crime against women in Kashmir

Year 2014 has so far witnessed a steep rise in cases of crime against women in valley. In the beginning of the year in February a case of sexual assault was filed against the former state health minister Shabir Ahmad Khan after a female medico accused the minister of attempting to molest her. The incident resulted in a huge hue and cry from the entire valley. Ultimately the minister had to resign and appeared in a police station.

INDIA: India Rebuffs 'Simplistic' U.N. Criticism Over Sex Crimes

India has rebuffed accusations by a U.N. investigator that sex crimes are rife in the world's biggest democracy, calling her analysis "simplistic" and full of "sweeping generalizations".

India's large northern state of Uttar Pradesh has seen a wave of violence and sex crimes, including the rape and murder of two girls aged 12 and 14, which stirred national outrage.

KASHMIR: Women Stage Protest Against Rising Incidents of Rapes, Molestations

Year 2014 witnessed a steep rise in cases of harassment and molestation across the valley, and to protest against the same, scores of women from far-flung areas today reached Srinagar to protest against such crimes.

The women including young girls gathered here at Pratap Park to protest against the rising rape cases and unnoticed harassment cases going on in the Valley.

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