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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PHILIPPINES: Medecins Sans Frontieres presses PNG on rampant sexual violence

The president of Medecins Sans Frontieres pressed Papua New Guinea's new government to address its epidemic levels of sexual and domestic violence Thursday, calling it a "humanitarian crisis".

Unni Karunakara was in the impoverished Pacific nation to visit MSF projects targeting family and sexual violence and met with officials from Prime Minister Peter O'Neill's new government to urge action on the pervasive issue.

AFRICA: Women Body Lobbies for Law on Marital Rape

A grouping of women living with HIV/Aids has asked parliament to criminalise marital rape as a new report reveals prevailing violent sexual life is fueling the pandemic.

However, lawmakers have said the subject is controversial and has urged the lobbyists to first conduct a nationwide campaign on the matter.

CAMBODIA: Women speak out over Khmer Rouge sexual violence

For three decades the scars branded onto Kim Khem's arms have been a reminder of the sexual torture she saw under the Khmer Rouge. Now, aged 80, she is finally breaking her silence on the horrors of the past.

INTERNATIONAL: We Must Put Price Tag on Cost of Rape in War - Wallstrom

A leading campaigner against sexual violence in conflict has called for economists to calculate the global cost of the scourge which she said was probably “the most ignored of war crimes”.

Margot Wallstrom, who has spearheaded U.N. efforts to tackle the use of rape in conflict, said that as cynical as it might sound the issue would be taken far more seriously if a price tag were put on it.

DRC: Local Women Respond to Attempt on Doctor's Life

“What about the women who were raped who were depending on Dr. Mukwege's support?” pleads Faida Mutula, an expectant mother living in Eastern Congo's South Kivu province.

LIBYA: Libya to Receive UN Women Grant for the First Time

Libya will be among 18 countries to receive a grant from the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women (UN Trust Fund) that is administered by the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women). This will be the first time Libya receives the grant that is dedicated to ending all forms of violence against women and girls.

INTERNATIONAL: UN Trust Fund to give over $8 million in grants to help end violence against women

The UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women will give more than $8 million in grants to local initiatives in 18 countries to deal with the issue, the UN agency tasked with advancing gender equality announced today.

DRC: Nobel-nominated Congo doctor fears going home after attack

A Nobel-prize nominated Congolese gynecologist said on Tuesday he is too scared to return to his native Congo after an attempt on his life last month by armed men in one of the most violent parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

"I can't guarantee my own security. As soon as I can guarantee I'll be protected, I'll be back," Denis Mukwege told reporters during a visit to the European Commission in Brussels.

DRC: One-third of Congolese men admit committing sexual violence

More than one in three men surveyed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo's war-torn east admits committing sexual assault, and three in four believe that a woman who "does not dress decently is asking to be raped", researchers have found.

AFGHANISTAN: Crimes Against Women in Greater Numbers Than Reported: AG

Mohammad Ishaq Aloko told TOLOnews that because most women in the remote areas of the country do not have access to or in some cases do not even know of the judicial bodies, many incidents are never reported.

"You see that women in the provinces such as Badghis and Daikondi don't know at all where the judiciary organisations are and what they do," he said in an interview Thursday.

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