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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USA: Report Says Female Farmworkers Suffer Sex Abuse

Female farmworkers across the United States are commonly sexually harassed and assaulted, in part because their immigration status makes them fearful of calling police, according to a report being released Wednesday by Human Rights Watch.

The survey by the international rights group mirrors two previous reports on the risks facing women and girls that had focused on California, where most of the nation's farmworkers reside.

INDONESIA: Indonesia Islamists Stall Gender Equality Bill

The fate of a gender equality bill pending in Indonesia's parliament and aligned with the United Nations convention on the elimination of all forms discrimination against women (CEDAW) has become uncertain after falling afoul of powerful Islamist groups.

CARIBBEAN: OAS and Chile Cooperate to Combat Violence Against Women in the Eastern Caribbean

The Organization of American States (OAS) and the government of Chile have signed a letter of intent to strengthen capacities in the area of violence against women in the countries of the Eastern Caribbean, among which are OAS member states Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis, and St Vincent and the Grenadines.

AMERICAS: 'War On Drugs' Leaves Latin american Women Lives in Ruin

“Violence associated with the ‘war on drugs' and organized crime, which includes government corruption in some countries have specific consequences for women in Latin America”, said the Chilean lawyer Patsili Toledo, member of ‘Antígona' a research group of the Autonomous University of Barcelona and a specialist in the subject of femicide in the continent.

SOUTH SUDAN: The Difficulties of Being a Woman in South Sudan

Decades of conflict have left South Sudan with some of the world's worst health and educational indicators, contributing to a growing problem of violence against women in the world's newest nation.

The country, which became independent in July 2011, has the world's highest maternal mortality rate -- 2,054 per 100,000 live births -- and lowest female education rates.

DRC: UN Envoy Concerned About Possible Sexual Violence Amid Latest Fighting

A top United Nations official has voiced her concern about the latest wave of fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), especially in areas that have previously witnessed sexual violence committed against civilians by members of armed groups.

BOSNIA and HERZEGOVINA: Peace, Justice Elude Rape Victims of Bosnian War

Nearly two decades after the Bosnian War ended, thousands of Bosnian women who were victims of sexual violence are still seeking justice.

INTERNATIONAL: Hatred of Women Exists in the West as Well as in the Arab World

Misogyny has reduced women to headscarves and hymens.
'WOMEN have very little idea of how much men hate them,'' wrote Germaine Greer in The Female Eunuch. So outraged were men that wives reportedly took to concealing their copies by wrapping them in plain brown paper.

SOUTHERN AFRICA: Violence Against Women at 'Crisis' Levels

The South African Minister for Women, Children and People with Disabilities, Lulu Xingwana, has called for Southern African countries to develop a comprehensive, holistic and integrated approach to end gender-based violence (GBV).

SIERRA LEONE: Charles Taylor Verdict - a Victory for Women's Rights

The guilty verdict on 11 counts of aiding and abetting war crimes and crimes against humanity of former Liberian president Charles Taylor has been hailed as a milestone for gender justice. It is the first time that an international court has convicted a former head of state of responsibility for various forms of sexual violence.

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