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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NEPAL: Woe Unto Women Accused of Practicing Witchcraft

Last Tuesday, 61-year-old Man Maya Angbohang, was beaten black and blue by a group of local youth at her residence in Taplejung after accusations of being a witch.

Cases of violence against women on accusations of witchcraft have been reported one after another in the Nepali media recently.

AFGHANISTAN: Rights Abuses by Afghan Forces Grow: Oxfam

Foreign troops must do more to prevent growing rights abuses by Afghan forces including killings and child sex abuse as they prepare to hand over security, a leading charity warned Tuesday.

SOUTH AFRICA: Activists Call For Retaliation Against Corrective Rape in South Africa

Although South Africa is the fifth country in the world, and the first in Africa, to legalize gay marriage, it hasn't stopped an increasing number of violent homophobic acts from being committed, namely “corrective rape,” which a 13-year-old lesbian recently became a victim of.

TURKEY: Women Left Unprotected from Violence

Turkey's flawed family violence protection system leaves women and girls across the country unprotected against domestic abuse, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Life-saving protections, including court-issued protection orders and emergency shelters, are not available for many abuse victims because of gaps in the law and enforcement failures.

AZERBAIJAN: UN: Azerbaijani Women Suffer From Lack of Shelters

According to the results of studies conducted within the framework of UN Population Fund project “Fight against gender-based violence in Azerbaijan” the country's media are not predisposed to focus on the concerns related to the violation of women's rights.

DRC: UN Envoy Welcomes Start of Trial of two Men Accused of Mass Rapes in DR Congo

The official spearheading United Nations efforts to combat the scourge of sexual violence committed during war has welcomed today's start of a trial in Germany of two Rwandans accused of ordering massacres and mass rape in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

SOUTH AFRICA: Task Force to Fight 'Corrective Rape' of Lesbians

South African law enforcement officials today said a new task force will be formed to address crimes against homosexuals after the gang rape and murder of a young woman believed to have been a victim of "corrective rape," or men attacking lesbians to "turn them straight" and punish the women for being gay.

PAKISTAN: Rape Victim and Women's Rights Advocate Mukhtara Mai Faces New Threat in Pakistan

It was in this dusty village that Mukhtaran Mai, then an illiterate Pakistani villager, was gang-raped by up to 14 men on the orders of a village council in 2002. Her infraction? Her brother had allegedly committed adultery with the daughter of an opposing clan's feudal lord.

It's also where she set up a women's welfare organization, a women's shelter, and three of the best schools in the area a year after her ordeal.

SOUTH-EAST ASIA: ASEAN To Strengthen Fight Against Human Trafficking

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders will say there is an "urgent need" for a comprehensive approach to the transnational crime, according to the draft communique which was seen by AFP on Friday.

BANGLADESH: Eleven Sentenced to Life for Bangladesh Gang Rape

A court in Bangladesh has sentenced 11 people to life imprisonment for gang raping a female school student during post-election violence in 2001.

A judge in the town of Sirajganj delivered the verdicts on Wednesday.

Six of those convicted were in court to hear their sentences, but five are still on the run and were convicted and sentenced in their absence.

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