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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NIGERIA: 16 Days of Activism on Violence Against Women

Every year women world over mark the 16 Days activism on violence against women. It is an international campaign started by the Centre for Women's Global leadership (CWGL) in 1991. It runs from November 25, International Day of Violence Against Women to December 10, International Human Rights Day to symbolically link violence against women and human rights.

COLOMBIA: Breaking the Taboo of Sexual Violence in Colombia

When journalist Jineth Bedoya stood outside the gates of Bogota's maximum-security La Modelo prison one morning nearly 11 years ago, little did she know that the visit would mark her life and convert her into a household name.

GREAT LAKES REGION: UN Officials Urge Eradication of Sexual Violence in Africa's Great Lakes Region

Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro today stressed that efforts to restore peace and stability in Africa's Great Lakes region will not come to fruition unless the scourge of sexual violence is completely eradicated and justice systems are strengthened to end impunity.

LIBERIA: 'You Did it' - Leymah Says of Women

When the bazooka ruled in 2003 and only the opinions of Liberian warlords and a beleaguered head of state mattered to the world community, Leymah Gbowee and seven immortal others rose to project the power of peace through non-violence.

GHANA: Rape and Defilement Charge is 25 Years Imprisonnment

Inspector Dwamena Akenten, Station Officer of the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service in the Western Region at the weekend disclosed that persons who are convicted on rape charges would be sentence for between five and twenty-five years.

He said for defilement cases the sentence ranged between seven years and 25 years imprisonment.

PAKISTAN: A Monumental Triumph

The fact that within a period of one month Pakistan has passed three pro-women bills can be considered a tremendous accomplishment. The Senate has unanimously approved and passed two more bills that were pending in the Assembly since 2008. The ambience in the Senate was overwhelming and awe-inspiring as besides civil society members, survivors of acid attacks had also been invited and emotional speeches were made in support of these victims.

SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE: Kosovo Women's Network Charts Alarming Trend in Violence

According to data from the Kosovo Police's Human Rights Department, there were 9,772 police-documented cases of domestic violence between 2002 and 2009 – over 1,000 episodes per year in a country with a population well below 2 million, according to the most recent census. Out of those cases, almost 80 percent of victims are women and nine perpetrators out of ten are men.

INTERNATIONAL:

I remember one day, when I was working in Belfast – it was back in the nineties. That battered city was very poor and very violent. But it had one thing going for it – it had quite a few women's community centres. I remember so clearly a woman in one of them who said to me, “Don't talk to me about war. My life's a battlefield.”

BURMA: Rape Used as Military Weapon

The Burmese army has been following a policy of systematically raping women and girls to subjugate the country's rebellious ethnic minorities, according to a new report.

The latest conflict between the militant Kachin Independence Army and the Burmese military reveals widespread use of rape by the military as a psychological weapon.

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