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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NAMIBIA: First Lady Calls for Stricter Laws to Deter Criminals

Namibia's First Lady Penehupifo Pohamba has called for the enactment of stricter laws to deter criminals from harming and abusing women and other vulnerable people.

SUDAN: Sudanese Activists Denounce Violence Against Women Being Legalised in Sudan

Sudanese Activists, men and women denounce Violence against Women being legalised in Sudan and call upon the Sudan Parliament to rise to the expectations of the Sudanese Society We call upon the Sudan government, UN agencies, the African Union countries, Human Rights organizations, the International community and men and women of faith across the world to join hands and stop the Sudan Parliament whose majority represents the current Sudan ruli

HAITI: Women Fight Sexual Violence

A small group of women in colorful shirts, jeans and skirts stand in a circle, singing and clapping. Some are smiling. All are dancing, shaking their bodies to the sound of their voices strong and loud. One woman dances in the middle, spinning. They are singing in Haitian Kreyol and it could be a celebration of some sort. In a way, it is.

UNITED STATES: Reeves: Self-petitions Under Violence Against Women Law

SPOUSES and children of US citizens or lawful permanent residents who are relying on their spouse or parent to petition them for permanent residency, but are being abused or subjected to extreme cruelty by the petitioner, can find themselves between a rock and a hard place. Should they continue their relationship with the abuser and get their green card or end the cycle of violence and face possible deportation?

UNITED STATES: Obama Administration Extends Asylum for Domestic Violence Victims

A Mexican woman with a history of domestic violence at the hands of her common-law husband was granted asylum by the Obama administration in a groundbreaking case that holds promise for future seekers of asylum with similar backgrounds.

AFRICA: Empowered to Fight Gender Based Violence

International Law Enforcement Academy Director James Smith says the effects of gender based violence are affecting communities around the world.

IRAN: Human Rights Group Fears Iran Woman's Execution Imminent

A prominent human rights group has expressed "grave concerns" that Iran will soon execute a women sentenced to death by stoning who purportedly confessed in a televised interview this week.

New York-based Human Rights Watch on Friday criticized Iran for airing the confession of the woman said to be Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani.

BANGLADESH: Killing Women in the Name of Religion

Nearly two decades after a peasant woman's suicide first raised national awareness about the danger of religious rulings, and one month after a high court outlawed deadly edicts, killings of women in the name of religion continue in Bangladesh, human rights groups say.

INTERNATIONAL: UN -Wartime Rape No More Inevitable, Acceptable than Mass Murder

The United Nations is trying to put sexual violence on the international policy map, telling political and military leaders that wartime mass rape "is no more inevitable than, or acceptable than, mass murder."

USA/AFRICA:'Conflict minerals' Finance Gang Rape in Africa

What does the financial reform package recently signed into law in the US have to do with preventing mass rape in Africa? Quite a lot, it seems, but one has to search deeply within the 2,300-page document to find Section 1502, which focuses on "conflict minerals". Conflict minerals help finance fighting and sexual violence on an unprecedented scale in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

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