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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DRC: Panzi Hospital: On the Front Line of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence

Imagine your village being attacked, your loved ones brutalized or even killed. Imagine being gang raped and humiliated in front of your children. Imagine having to walk for days or even weeks to get medical assistance. What would be hard for most of us to imagine is reality for many women and girls in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

COTE D'IVOIRE: Justice in Côte d'Ivoire

Late in the afternoon on November 29, former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo was removed from his prison cell in the dusty northern town of Korhogo and served with an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court (ICC). He was then put aboard a plane to The Hague, where he now faces four counts of crimes against humanity, including murder, rape, and persecution.

GUATEMALA: Justice Delayed But Not Denied for Indigenous Peoples in Guatemala

“Everything changed when the soldiers arrived,” said Rosa, an Indigenous Ixil woman living in the Quiché region of Guatemala. “They burned our homes, raped the women and killed many of my friends and neighbors.”

SOUTH SUDAN: Aid Worker Diaries - South Sudan: Women and children bear brunt of violence

Arothi returned from the bush on Friday. She, along with her six children, had been hiding there for almost two days.

Her husband was killed by the marauding cattle-rustlers – mostly armed youths from the Lou Nuer tribe.

Arothi walked for 2 hours from the bush to Gumuruk where child rights organisation Plan International was distributing food to displaced villagers.

TANZANIA: Centre Sets Agenda on Gender Based Violence

A national centre which will conduct research and publish information, statistics and documentation on Gender Based Violence (CBV) has been established.

The move follows the country's plan as well as call by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organizations (UNESCO) in 2003 to member states in the Great Lakes region to strengthen action in favour of women and children living in conflict zones.

EL SALVADOR: Women of El Salvador Start the New Year with a Special Law Protecting Them

In El Salvador in 1930, the first female president in all of Latin America was elected. Her name was Prudencia Ayala and she led the way in history to proclaim the equality of rights. Twenty years after that declaration, the government, in 1950, granted full equality for both sexes in El Salvador.

Yet, equality hasn't brought peace to the women of El Salvador.

COLOMBIA: Internally Displaced Women in Colombia Organize Themselves to Secure their Rights to Housing, Education and Health Care

Internally displaced women in Colombia are organizing themselves to secure their rights to housing, education and health care. But along with this come threats, violence and dissatisfied husbands. Is it worth it?

SOMALIA: For Somali Women, Pain of Being a Spoil of War

The girl's voice dropped to a hush as she remembered the bright, sunny afternoon when she stepped out of her hut and saw her best friend buried in the sand, up to her neck.

Her friend had made the mistake of refusing to marry a Shabab commander. Now she was about to get her head bashed in, rock by rock.

GUATEMALA: Guatemala Heeds the Cries of Femicide Victims

The relentless wave of femicides in Guatemala, which has one of the highest female murder rates in the world, has prompted actions by the government, civil society groups, and two Nobel Peace laureates to try to put a stop to this brutal violence against women, which has reached horrific proportions.

SOMALIA: For Somali Women, Pain of Being a Spoil of War

The girl's voice dropped to a hush as she remembered the bright, sunny afternoon when she stepped out of her hut and saw her best friend buried in the sand, up to her neck.

Her friend had made the mistake of refusing to marry a Shabab commander. Now she was about to get her head bashed in, rock by rock.

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