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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USTPAC highlights the plight of Tamil Women in North-East Sri Lanka on International Womens Day

USTPAC joins the world community in celebrating the International Women�s Day on March 8th, but on a sad note, wishes to highlight the continued suffering of Tamil women in North-East Sri Lanka.

CAR/DRC/SUDAN: Ghosts of Christmas Past - Protecting Civilians from the LRA

On Christmas Eve 2008 and over the following three weeks, 865 women, men and children were savagely beaten to death and hundreds more abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in a remote corner in the north-east of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and in southern Sudan.

DRC: Aid Groups Call for Action to Prevent New LRA Massacres

Aid groups on Tuesday urged the international community to avert a third consecutive year of massacres by Lord Resistance Army rebels in central Africa in the run up to Christmas.

They called on the United Nations Security Council to set up an expert panel to address the threat of the LRA.

AFRICA: 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.

SUDAN: Sudan YouTube Flogging Video: Women Arrested at March

About 30 Sudanese women have been arrested for holding a protest march over a video which allegedly shows a policeman whipping a woman.

The women were detained as they tried to hand a petition to the justice ministry in Khartoum.

The authorities have said they are investigating the alleged whipping, which has been widely circulated on the YouTube website.

SOMALIA: A Colourful Culmination of the 16 Days Campaign

Galkayo (RBC Radio):- THE curtain fell in style 10th December 2010 on the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence campaign in Galkayo Town, Puntland State Somalia, when hundreds of youth and their supporters draped in red and white head bands gathered for the final match of a soccer tournament organized to commemorate the campaign.

SUDAN: Sudan Probes 'Whipping Video of Woman by Police'

KHARTOUM — Sudan's judiciary is investigating the brutal whipping of a young woman, allegedly by uniformed police, after shocking images were circulated on the Internet, media reports said on Monday.

ZIMBABWE: Statement on Politically Motivated Rape in Zimbabwe

The Research and Advocacy Unit (RAU) and the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR) recently concluded a study and produced the first report coming out of Zimbabwe focussing on politically motivated rape in the country. Since this was a clinical rather than an epidemiological study, there was no attempt to determine either the prevalence of political rape or to establish how representative the sample was.

MEXICO: Ciudad Juarez- Women in Leading Edge of Social Violence

As underlined in the World Health Organization (WHO) report of 2005 on ‘Violence against Women and Achieving the Millenium Development Goals', violence against women is a major obstacle for development. Nevertheless, even though they constitute an obvious violation of human rights, some of these cases of violence continue to have an unjustifiably low priority. One of the best examples is the case of the feminicides of Ciudad Juarez.

SOMALIA: Somali Women Refugees Need Greater Protection from Rape and Sexual Assault

Reporting for BBC News, Zeinab Bedawi gets rare access to UN displaced people's camps in the towns of Gaalkacyo and Boosaaso in northern Somalia.

They are home to 30,000 victims of one of Africa's longest conflicts.

The clip starts with a group of Somalian women vibrantly greeting the BBC news team at the UN camp.

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