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: Congo Mass Rape Numbers Rise to 240

Some 240 women, girls and babies may have been raped after rebels recently seized a town in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the UN says.

Officials had previously said they had received reports of 150 rapes in and around the town of Luvungi.

The UN mission has been heavily criticised for not doing more to protect the local population as it had peacekeepers based nearby.

DRC: UN Peacekeeping Official Visits the East After Rape of Civilians

A senior United Nations peacekeeping official, who is visiting the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) following the recent mass rape of civilians by members of illegal armed groups, has travelled to the eastern region of the country where the crimes were committed, a UN spokesperson said today.

RWANDA: Kigali City Tops Gender Based Violence Crime List

Kigali City has topped the Gender Based Violence (GBV) crime list with 510 cases registered in the first six months of the year. The report indicates that 1,572 cases were registered country wide by the end of June.

The Southern and Eastern Provinces are the second and third with 318 and 313 cases respectively, while the Western and Northern provinces registered the lowest cases, according to the report.

DRC: Their Stories Still Ring in My Head (Opinion)

The wires have been hot this week with reports of a slow-moving mass rape crusade in Walikale, Congo. According to The New York Times, rebel soldiers raped at least 154 Congolese women and four baby boys in broad daylight, 18 miles from a United Nations base of 80 peacekeepers, over a four-day span in late July & early August.

"Why is this happening?"


"Why didn't the peacekeepers intervene?"

DRC: Doing Her Part to Help Congolese Women

“Rwandan and Congolese rebels gang-raped nearly 200 women and some baby boys over four days within miles of a U.N. peacekeepers' base in an eastern Congo mining district,” wrote Michelle Faul of the Associated Press in an August 23, 2010 article. She cites an American aid worker and a Congolese doctor as her sources.

SUDAN: Sexual Violence and the Social Stigma in Darfur

As the situation in Darfur continues, sexual violence remains in the forefront as a means of war and humiliation. As a result, survivors of sexual violence are not only ostracized by their families and communities but left to struggle alone with the long-term effects of this brutal victimization.

DRC: European Union Condemns Gang-Rape of Women, Children in North Kivu

The European Union (EU) has expressed 'deep indignation and consternation' over the group attacks and rape recently perpetrated by militiamen of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) and Congolese allied armed groups in the province of North Kivu, official sources in Brussels revealed.

INDONESIA: Female Genital Mutilation Persists Despite Ban

Though the Indonesian government banned female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) four years ago, experts say religious support for the practice is more fervent than ever, particularly in rural communities.

A lack of regulation since the ban makes it difficult to monitor, but medical practitioners say FGM/C remains commonplace for women of all ages in this emerging democracy of 240 million - the world's largest Muslim nation.

INDONESIA (ACHEH): Women-Only Train Service

Indonesia's women-only train service launched on Aug. 19, 2010 in Jakarta by the Indonesian state-run railway company, PT Kereta Api, was warmly welcomed mainly by female commuters.

The service has been introduced as an attempt to prevent sexual harassment on public transport after a series of complaints of sexual harassment and assault from women who travel on Jakarta's trains and buses.

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