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: EU Calls on DRC to Stamp out Rapes.

The European Union (EU) urged the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Wednesday to ramp up efforts to protect the population and end the impunity of sexual predators following recent mass rapes.

"The EU is worried about the human rights situation in the DRC," said Belgian European Affairs Minister Olivier Chastel, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency.

ZIMBABWE: Sexual Abuse- A Silent Threat to MDGs

HARARE – Esther Masvikeni (not her real name) is 17 years old but looks twice her age and has just found out that she is HIV-positive. She was raped in April by her former boyfriend who was her sister's neighbour at the time. (Pictured: A mother and her young daughter – Research shows that 57 percent of the poorest 20 percent of Zimbabwean girls have a higher likelihood of marrying before turning 18 years.)

SOUTHERN AFRICA: Women Traders Confronting Sexual Harassment at Borders

Harassment and sexual exploitation by border officials seeking bribes constitute the biggest obstacles for female informal cross-border traders in Africa, according to a United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) research study launched on Sep 21.

AFRICA: African Union Must Intensify Protection of Women and Kids

Members of United Nations secretary- general Ban Ki Moon's Network of Men Leaders and members of the MenEngage Alliance and the Athena Network, have called on the AU, its regional bodies and member states to take urgent action in ensuring that this decade improves women's lives and brings an end to the endemic violence faced by women and girls across the continent, especially in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

KENYA: Violence Against Women on the Decline - Study

Gender-based violence, especially targeting women, significantly declined in the run up to the referendum compared to 2007 General Election period, a new study has revealed.

UGANDA: Better Stoves Curb Risks for Rural Women

MOROTO — Two surveys of WFP beneficiaries paint a shocking picture of the hardship and sexual violence faced by Ugandan women collecting firewood.

AFRICA: Sexual Abuse Preventing Progress On Education Targets

After she became a mother just before her 15th birthday, Diana Ricardo was forced to drop out of school and give up her dreams of a brighter future.

Ricardo says she was impregnated by a teacher, who afterwards refused paternity testing claiming he could not afford a second wife.

MALAWI: Gender-Based Violence Wrecks Malawi Refugee Camp

At the age of 13, Chantal Kifungo* is mother to a ten-month-old baby girl. It wasn't her choice. Almost two years ago, she was raped by her stepfather – and fell pregnant with his child.

DRC: DRC Objects to UN's Admonitions

The Democratic Republic of Congo said on Friday it "had not expected the admonitions" of the UN Security Council and denied recent mass rapes in the country were linked to the government, a spokesperson told AFP.

The DR Congo officers deployed in the Kivu provinces "were put into offensive contact with these groups of rapists, we beseiged them", said government spokesperson Lambert Mende, when questioned by AFP.

DRC: Women Bear the Brunt of DRC Violence

First the rebel soldiers told residents of the villages in the mineral-rich eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) not to worry. They were just there for a rest and would do no harm. But as dusk fell, the fighters encircled five villages simultaneously, and the gang rapes began.

Six or seven men lined up to take their turn. The victims ranged from a month-old baby boy to a 110-year-old great-great-grandmother.

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