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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LIBERIA: Gender Equality 'Central' to All Other Development, Say Women's Groups

Women and children play a major role in poverty alleviation and are expected to feature prominently in any future development goals, it emerged during debates in Liberia this week.

INDIA: Safety for the Last Woman

The trauma and eventual death of a young student from Delhi following her brutal gang rape awakened many across the country to demand accountability from the government to establish stronger laws and more effective institutions to prevent violence against women. The need is to ensure greater security and justice for women and girls within a larger framework of a humane, just and equitable society.

DRC: Massive Rapes and Conflict Displacement Hit DR Congo Mining Region

For the past 10 months, a little-known conflict in a marginalized corner of northeast Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has left a trail of killing, abduction, rape and forced displacement, with few signs of an imminent resolution. The epicentre of the conflict is a vast forest reserve covering some 13,700sqkm in Orientale Province.

INDIA: Millions March Against Violence Against Women in India

In a historical protest against sexual violence against women hundreds of thousands of angry women and men spontaneously gathered in the streets in India, following the brutal 16 December gang rape and murder of a 23 year old student in Delhi.

GUATEMALA: Five Murdered Women the Latest Victims of Guatemala's War on Women

Last week, 35-year-old Carmen Virginia Tuez Franco was found murdered in Guatemala City alongside her niece Silvia Matilde Gaitan Franco. Murders in Guatemala are among the most frequent in the world, but the nation was shocked when Carmen's two daughter's bodies were found on the outskirts of town. Carmen's daughters, Rosiaro and Andy, were only six and eleven years of age.

EU: Violence Against Women Still "Significant Challenge" in EU

Irish minister of state for equality Kathleen Lynch has announced that she will be pushing for "tight, firm conclusions" on violence against women during Ireland's EU council presidency.

Speaking at a meeting of parliament's women's rights and gender equality committee, Lynch said, "We all agree that there is no country in Europe where violence against women is not a problem."

SIERRA LEONE: Women, Targets in Sierra Leone's Decade of Hell, Now Face a Different Kind of Civil War

Tears stream down Fatmata's face as she shuffles into the police station courtyard, alone and doubled over in pain after being held down and beaten with a stick.

She is 26 and says it's not her first battering. This time, though, she is pressing criminal charges against her husband and his girlfriend.

LATIN AMERICA: Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Against Women is Widespread in 12 Latin American Countries

A new report published by the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) in collaboration with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that in 12 Latin American and Caribbean countries studied, between 17% and 53% of women interviewed reported having suffered physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner. In seven of the countries, more than one in four women reported such violence.

SUDAN: Women Without Men Vulnerable in South Sudan's Refugee Camps

Mahasa sits in the dust outside the hut she built herself, holding her youngest son in her arms.

The 29-year-old mother of four knows how vulnerable she is. "I'm scared," she said.

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