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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INTERNATONAL: UN Report - Rape 'Increasingly Familiar' Weapon of War

The United Nations has put women at the center of its 2010 State of the World Population report, which says rape is increasingly used as a weapon of war.


The U.N. State of the World Population Report coincides with the 10 year anniversary of U.N. Resolution 1325, which aims to make women central to building peace in conflict situations.

DRC: Rebel Rape Victims May Face Same Abuse From Army, UN Warns

Hundreds of women who were raped by rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) nearly three months ago now reportedly face the same abuse from Government troops, a senior United Nations official warned today.

DRC: Army Raping And Killing, Says UN Envoy

DR Congo government troops are raping and killing women in remote villages where hundreds were the victims of mass rapes by militias in July and August, Margot Wallstrom, UN special envoy on sexual violence against women in conflict, said Thursday.

DRC: UN Council Told to Act Against Rapists in Congo

The UN Security Council was told that the best way to stop rapes in the Congo was to arrest and sanction commanders who permitted it, exclude perpetrators from any future amnesty and do something about the root of the violence -- the looting of minerals.

DRC: 15,000 Rapes in Stricken DR Congo Region Last Year: Envoy

More than 15,000 rapes were committed last year in a strife-torn region of Democratic Republic of Congo where peacekeepers cannot guarantee civilian security, a top UN official said Friday.


With accusations now being made against DR Congo government troops of new cases of raping and killing in the east of the country, the head of the UN force, Roger Meece, said "the scale of the problem is enormous."

DRC: DR Congo women march against sexual violence

The Democratic Republic of Congo's first lady has led thousands of women on a march against sexual violence.


Olive Lembe Kabila headed the rally in the town of Bukavu in the east of the country, where Congolese and foreign armed groups have operated for years.

Last week, the UN said government troops were raping and killing women in the same villages where hundreds were raped by rebels in July and August.

DRC: Congo Defense Minister Rejects UN Allegations against Army

During a press conference held in Kinshasa on Saturday, Defence Minister Charles Mwando Nsimba expressed outrage at the remarks made by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Margot Wallström, before the UN Security Council on Thursday.

COTE D'IVOIRE: Ivorian Women Urged to Vote Massively Sunday

A Women's organization in Cote d'Ivoire, the International Forum of Women for Development and Peace (FIFEM), on Tuesday launched a nation-wide campaign, urging Ivorian women to vote massively in Sunday's presidential polls, PANA reported from here.

The campaign train criss-crossed Abidjan, the capital, and will go through other major cities in the country.

INTERNATIONAL: Rape a 'Cheap' Weapon, U.N. Says

Sexual violence perpetrated against women and children extends beyond Africa as a "cheap" weapon of war, a U.N. special envoy on sexual violence said.

The United Nations says that while conflicts are changing, civilians continue to suffer the most during wars. Women and children are often the greatest victims as militants turn to sexual violence as a way to wield power over vulnerable communities.

MOZAMBIQUE: Guebuza Condemns Violence Against Women

Maputo — Mozambican President Armando Guebuza on Thursday condemned "abominable" acts of violence against women, and called on all Mozambicans to respect women.

Speaking in Maputo at the opening session of the Second National Conference on Women and Gender, Guebuza said that violence scars women in body and soul, and can disable or kill them.

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