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.

For more resources on this Critical Issue, visit PeaceWomen Resource Center >>

DRC: Security Council Urges Govt to Speedily Bring Mass Rape Perpetrators to Justice

In the wake of mass rapes of civilians in the restive far east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Security Council called on the country to take “swift and fair” action to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Hundreds of people – including more than two dozen children – were raped by members of armed groups in July and August in the volatile North Kivu province.

DRC: Rape: A Story of Monumental UN Failure

In yet another grisly deja vu, the world has heard about hundreds of rapes in a small area of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, or Congo) in late July and early August, many of them in North Kivu, within a few miles of a United Nations encampment of peacekeepers charged with protecting civilians. The UN is not just negligent but complicit in these crimes.

DRC: UN Security Council renews condemnation of mass rape in DR Congo

The UN Security Council on Friday renewed a strong condemnation of the mass rape in the Democratic Republic of Congo, stressing in particular Kinshasa's primary responsibility in the provision of security and protection of its citizens.

DRC: DRCongo Vows to End Impunity over Sexual Violence: Minister

The Democratic Republic of Congo's justice minister pledged Monday to "spare no effort" in ending impunity for sexual violence, adding that results of probes into recent mass rapes would be published in coming days.

DRC: Security Council Criticizes Congo Over Mass Rapes

The UN Security Council strongly criticized the Democratic Republic of Congo government Friday for mass rapes in the country and demanded tougher action to catch those responsible.

Hundreds of women and children were raped by militia groups in eastern DR Congo in late July and early August, in acts that drew widespread international condemnation. UN peacekeepers were also criticized for their slow response to the sex assaults.

TIMOR-LESTE: The Slow Death of Domestic Violence + Domestic Abuse Survivors Speak

The Slow Death of Domestic Violence

The government of Timor-Leste is struggling to implement a recently adopted law criminalizing domestic violence, amid scepticism that it is too much, too soon.

“We are a teenager of a country,” Maria Filomena Babo Martins, chief of training and education at the Secretariat of State for the Promotion of Equality (SEPI), which is coordinating the law's implementation, told IRIN.

UGANDA: Violence Persists in Spite of Law in Northern Uganda

On Saturday July 31, 2010, a 30 year-old woman was brutally murdered by a brother in-law in Ogan village, Pajule, Pader district northern Uganda. Susan Adong--who had three children, was seven months pregnant.
According to the police report, Adong was murdered because the family held her responsible for her husband's death. Adong's husband died in a prison after he was remanded over several cases of physical abuse against Adong.

AFGHANISTAN: Obama Must Not Let Taliban rule over Afghan Women Again

In mid-August in the northern Afghanistan province of Kunduz, the Taliban carried out a horrific sentence against two young Afghan lovers who had eloped against their families' wishes. The punishment was death by stoning. Deemed by Islamic extremists to be justified under sharia law, the process involves partially burying the accused, after which a male crowd hurls stones at the victims' exposed heads until they die.

DRC: DR Congo Sexual Violence Victims Speak to UN

Victims of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo have begun telling a high-level UN panel about their experiences as part of efforts to improve treatment and support.

The hearings began on Thursday in the troubled eastern region of South Kivu.

The panel will travel to provinces throughout the DRC.

Pages