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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LEBANON: Lebanese Advocates ABAAD Partner with Men for Gender Equality

A new Lebanon based human rights and equality initiative is now partnering with men to reach the goal as advocates for equality of the sexes in the Middle East region and beyond.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - Advocacy for Women Under Domestic Violence Must Work From 'Ground Up'

(WNN/PI) Santa Domingo, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: With Dominican Republic's national legislation against violence in place, as well as the international laws on human rights, it is clear that the duty to exercise due diligence to prevent, prosecute and punish violence against women should exist. But very little real protection exists for women in reality as many continue to suffer violence on a daily basis as the majority of perpetr

PALESTINE: In Peace, Palestinian Women Under Attack

Occupied West Bank, Aug 16 2012 (IPS) - After the brutal murder of a Palestinian woman in late July in a busy Bethlehem marketplace, local human rights groups are pushing for stronger reforms to stem violence against women in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

INTERNATIONAL: UN Women Co-hosts First of its Kind Training Symposium on Sexual and Gender-based Violence

From 6 to 7 September, UN Women and the Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice are bringing together the Chief Prosecutors and key staff of international courts based in The Hague, together with gender justice experts, states parties, academics, donors and women living in armed conflict situations to advance and strengthen international justice including accountability for sexual and gender-based violence.

ISRAEL: Women Living in Israel List Sexual Violence as Bigger Security Threat than Bombings

Women in Israel have very different views on what the basic threats against their security are, depending on factors as ethnicity, health status and socio-economic conditions. That is one of the major findings in the Israeli Women's Security Index, a survey based on interviews made with more than 700 women, both Jewish and Palestinian, living in the country.

NORTH AFRICA: ICTJ Program Report - Middle East and North Africa

The latest ICTJ Program Report explores transitional justice issues in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and charts our work in this important and dynamic region.

Claudio Cordone, ICTJ's program director covering the MENA region, discusses individual country scenarios, prospects for transitional justice processes and explains ICTJ's involvement and impact.

ETHIOPIA: Army Commits Torture, Rape

The Ethiopian military responded to an April 2012 attack on a large commercial farm in Gambella region with arbitrary arrests, rape, and other abuses against scores of local villagers. Forced displacement, inadequate resources, and other abuses against Gambella's population persist in the second year of the government's “villagization” program.

SIERRA LEONE: A Sierra Leonean Named to Sexual Violence in Conflict Post

Zainab Hawa Bangura, the minister of health and sanitation in Sierra Leone, a country that not long ago rose from a brutal civil war, will take over in September as the United Nations special representative on sexual violence in conflict.

COLOMBIA: Conviction for Conflict-Related Rape and Murders 'A Rare Victory'.

A civilian court's conviction of a Colombian junior army officer for the murder and rape of a girl is a rare victory for those campaigning against impunity for sexual crimes committed during the country's decades-old armed conflict, said Amnesty International.

UNITED STATES: Is the U.S. Better on Gender-Based Violence Abroad than at Home?

As they gather in Tampa for their 2012 Convention, Republican politicians and party operatives continue to be plagued by questions about the horrific comments on rape by Missouri Congressman Todd Akin. While they insist that Akin's comments won't affect the Romney presidential campaign, Republicans can't deny that this appears to be another salvo in the party's ongoing war on women.

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