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/RWANDA: FDLR Attacks Villages in North Kivu

The UN backed Radio Okapi, which operates in the Democratic Republic of the Congo said, Saturday, that elements of the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda (FDLR), from Wednesday to Friday, attacked and looted property from the villages of Mirangi and Busundule, in the Bwito area of DRC's North Kivu province.

CAR: 'Bemba Soldiers Raped Me, My Four Children and My Husband'

A prosecution witness today recounted how she, her four children, and her husband were subjected to multiple rapes by soldiers belonging to the group founded by war crimes accused Jean-Pierre Bemba.

PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Goldmine Acts over Allegations of Torture and Rape

The operator of the multibillion-dollar Porgera goldmine in Papua New Guinea has sacked five employees over an alleged pattern of violent abuse against villagers, including pack rapes.

Scores of women say they were beaten, tortured or raped by members of Barrick Gold Corporation's 450-strong private security force in abuses dating to 2008.

DRC: Mobile Court Reduces Sex Attacks

Eleven soldiers accused of raping more than 60 women have gone on trial in the most high-profile case yet heard by the Democratic Republic of Congo's pioneering ''mobile gender court''.

The men are alleged to have carried out the attacks on New Year's Day in the town of Fizi, in the South Kivu province, where sexual violence is rife amid clashes between the army and local and foreign militias.

DRC: UN Helps Provide Psychotherapy, Training for Rape Victims

As part of its campaign against rape in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the United Nations and its partners this week opened a centre in the eastern city of Bukavu to provide a safe haven and training programmes for survivors of sexual violence.

ZIMBABWE: Rape - Perspectives and Realities

There would you go for assistance if you were the victim of rape?

This was the question posed to a diverse group of Harare-based Zimbabweans recently. What should have yielded simple answers instead drew blank stares, confused mumbles - and finally, the admission from all but one that they weren't aware of any existing services in the city.

INTERNATIONAL: Insult to Injury: Women Refugees and the Stigma of Rape

The road to safety does not always guarantee deliverance, especially not for many women refugees fleeing conflict in the Horn of Africa.

Increasing cases of sexual abuse against women refugees en route to sanctuary in Egypt and Israel have raised concerns about providing victims with proper mental health care to survive not only the psychological remnants of rape, but also the resultant stigma.

AFGHANISTAN: Afghan State Seeks Control Over Abused Women

Afghanistan's government is considering taking over the running of women's shelters, subjecting victims of domestic abuse to medical examinations and near-incarceration under a proposal rights groups say is a concession to the Taliban.

MYANMAR: Equal Opportunity Abuse in Myanmar

When independent researchers fanned out across military-ruled Myanmar's mountainous Chin State to catalogue human-rights abuses, they expected to hear the usual disturbing stories of ethnic minority women being raped by government troops. But the research uncovered an unexpected new trend of abuse: Chin men were also being sexually violated by male soldiers in the country's remote northwestern corner.

PAKISTAN: Over 6,000 Violence Cases Against Women in Eight Months Reported

Some 6,221 cases of violence against women were reported in the country from January to August 2010 including 778 cases of murder, 302 cases of honour killing and 1,611 cases of sexual assault.

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