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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UGANDA: UNICEF Supports Uganda's Committment to Fight Violence against Women and Children

MUNYONYO, Uganda, 10 December 2010 - "Today we are starting a three-day journey for creating a shared vision about a Ugandan society in which women and children live with no fear, in dignity and to their full potential."

SOMALIA: Rape with Impunity - Plight of Somalia's Women Refugees

The three Somali women sat huddled together in a corner of an empty, dusty room in a camp for displaced people in northern Somalia, their faces etched with grief and resignation.

They were all rape victims. Two of them had been gang-raped, by up to six men.

UNITED STATES: Women Veterans Sue Pentagon For Information on Military Rape

Rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment "occur nearly twice as often within military ranks as they do within civilian life" and are the leading cause of post-traumatic stress disorder in women veterans, but the Pentagon refuses to release information on it, or on its feeble efforts to help women who suffer from it, the Service Women's Action Network says in a federal FOIA complaint.

SUDAN: Video of Sudanese Woman Being Flogged Prompts Protest

Khartoum, Sudan -- A YouTube video of Sudanese police officers laughing as they publicly flogged a pleading, fleeing woman has sparked outrage, prompting dozens of demonstrators to protest Tuesday outside the Justice Ministry in downtown Khartoum, authorities said.

INTERNATIONAL: Stronger Global Response Needed to Gender-Based Violence

Just a few weeks ago, as millions of families gathered in the United States to celebrate Thanksgiving, a lesser-known event went by unnoticed. The International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women kicked off 16 Days of Activism, an international campaign to end gender-based violence.

DRC: U.N. Worried about Congolese Violence

Congolese leaders should be prepared for attacks by the Ugandan rebel Lord's Resistance Army during the upcoming holiday season, the United Nations warned.

The United Nations estimates that the LRA may have killed more than 1,800 people and abducted another 2,400 more since 2007. Many of the women targeted by the rebel group were raped or forced into sexual slavery.

DRC: World is Apparently Indifferent to Suffering in Congo Region

The tragedy in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) continues, while the international community assists helplessly, indifferently, passively, or even knowingly,” said the newsletter edited by the “Peace Network for the Congo”, promoted by missionaries.

DRC: 339 Rape Victims 'Rejected' Back Home in DRC

Raped and deported from Angola along with thousands of many others, a group of 339 Congolese women remain without assistance in their own country, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the communication officer of Caritas/Development, Jean-Pierre Kamuonii, told the press here Tuesday.

DRC: US-Congo Minerals Law: Overdue Reform or Fuel on the Fire

When US President Barack Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in July, the aim was to clean up American finance. Yet an obscure passage, buried deep inside the 2,300-page legislation, seeks to reform an industry thousands of miles from Washington - one that activists say is fueling rape and other acts of violence against civilians in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

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