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: Troops Held over DR Congo Mass Rape

Seven soldiers and a commander in the army of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have been arrested over allegations that they were involved in a mass rape, according to the United Nations.

Fifty women have told the UN that they were raped in the eastern town of Fizi on the night of January 1 this year.

DRC: 8 Soldiers Including Colonel Arrested in New Year Rapes of 50 Women in Eastern Congo

A former rebel commander integrated as a colonel into the Congolese army has been arrested in the rapes of dozens of women in volatile eastern Congo on New Year's Day, the United Nations has reported.

DRC: DR Congo Army Commander 'Led Mass Rape' in Fizi

An army commander in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has been accused of leading the recent mass rape of at least 50 women.

One of the victims, as well as sources quoted in a UN report, all accuse Lt Col Kibibi Mutware of links to New Year's Day rapes in the town of Fizi.

There have been numerous cases of mass rape in DR Congo's conflict but this is believed to be the largest single incident allegedly involving the army.

ETHIOPIA: Torture and Extrajudicial Killings Continue Unabated in the Ogaden

The incidents took place in the town of Sagag where Ina (The daughter of) Sheikh Mahamud Sheikh Abdillahi and Halima Badal Sam-Sam Abiib were subjected to extreme forms of torture while under the custody of the Ethiopian Armed Forces.

SOMALIA: Justice According to Al-Shabaab

Mogadishu — When the punishment, 100 whip lashes, was postponed because she was pregnant Ms Anab Mussa thought she was the luckiest woman in the world. She had misread the Al-Shabaab-backed court.

The court in Wanlaweyn town, some 100 kilometres west of Mogadishu, had convicted Anab for having sexual relations out of wedlock.

HAITI: Small Measures Can Improve the Lives of Haitian Women

Even before last year's earthquake, Haiti was one of the toughest places in the Western Hemisphere to be a woman. Nowhere else in Latin America, North America, or the Caribbean is the maternal mortality rate higher, literacy rate lower, and life expectancy shorter than for women in Haiti.

OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES: Palestinian Cabinet Endorses First National Strategy to Combat Violence against Women

The Palestinian Cabinet endorsed a nine-year national strategic plan to combat violence again women in the occupied Palestinian territory, the first of its kind in the Arab region.

HAITI: Crimes Against Women In Haiti Staggering, Panel Finds

Historically, violence against women has been used as a political weapon in Haiti. Since last year's devastating earthquake, experts say women and girls are even more vulnerable to gender based attacks. NY1's Shazia Khan filed the following report.
You don't have to speak Creole to understand the terror experienced by Maricia Jean, a victim of rape in Haiti in 1991.

HAITI: Life for Women, Children in Haiti Worsens, Lecturer says

Fabienne Doucet is haunted by the stories of the women and children she has met who are still living in camps one year after an earthquake reduced the island nation of Haiti to rubble.

SOMALIA: Somali Women Say Islamists Becoming More Draconian

NAIROBI, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Women living in areas controlled by Somalia's Islamists say they are increasingly the target of more draconian rules meted out by the rebels bent on enforcing their ideologies.

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