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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CYPRUS: Gaps in Law Leave Women Open to Abuse

Young children and women are vulnerable to sexual exploitation because of gaps in the law and the lack of its implementation as well as absence of a national policy, parliament's Human Rights Committee yesterday said.

SOMALIA: UN Women Head Raises Alarm On Insecurity Facing Somali Refugee Women And Girls In Kenya

UN Women Executive Director Ms. Michelle Bachelet has raised concerns over insecurity facing Somali women and girls in refugee camps in Kenya.

“Women are raped in their homes, in the bushes and many times on the roads,” said Ms. Bachelet. “New arrivals don't have shelters to sleep in and end up sleeping in the open outside the camps, exposing themselves to security risks.”

AFRICA: UN Envoy On Sexual Violence Welcomes African Commitment To Eradicating The Vice

The United Nations envoy on sexual violence in conflict today underlined the role of the African leadership in combating sexual violence in the continent, and welcomed the commitment expressed by the African Union (AU) to ensure that the problem is eradicated.

DRC: UN Provides Logistical Support for Rape Trial of Army General

United Nations human rights officials are providing technical and logistical support to military justice authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in the rape trial of General Jerôme Kakwavu, the highest ranking national army officer to be prosecuted for such crimes.

HAITI: Women Turn Spotlight on Haiti's Silent Rape Epidemic

Some 14 months after Haiti's earthquake, activists say there is an ongoing epidemic of rape and gender-based violence (GBV) in the country's more than 1,000 squalid displaced persons camps, where nearly a million people are still awaiting permanent housing.

PHILIPPINES: Strengthening of Task Forces on Women and Children Pushed

In order to improve and sustain programs for the rights and welfare of women in the province, there is a need to assess their status and further strengthen the Violence against Women and Children (VAWC) Task Forces, according to concerned representatives of government agencies here.

ISRAEL: Israel's Katsav Rape Case: A Plus for Women's Rights?

In a parliamentary government like Israel's, pretty much all executive power resides in the Prime Minister. The office of President carries certain responsibilities, such as signing treaties and appointing the head of the central bank, but it's largely a ceremonial post. Israel's head of state is basically there to make the country look good.

INDIA: Rapes of Women Show Clash of Old and New India

The young lovers met at a secluded spot next to a field of wheat at the edge of this sprawling suburb of New Delhi, where the timeless India of mustard fields and bullock carts abuts the frantically rising apartment towers of the budding middle class. They went seeking solitude, but instead found themselves at the violent cusp of old India and new.

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