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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HAITI: MADRE to Present Findings on Rapes in Camps to Officials in Haiti

Today, MADRE staff members begin a three-day fact-finding mission to Haiti, gathering evidence on post-disaster violations of women's human rights to present before international and Haitian government officials.

UNITED STATES: Law Helps Immigrants Facing Female Circumcision

Gender-based violence is a problem facing millions of women worldwide. Forced marriage, honor killing and female genital mutilation are just a few of the human rights abuses directed against women solely because of their gender. In the United States, a number of organizations are trying to help women who are trying to flee their country to escape this gender-based persecution, using the judicial system to help them get asylum.

AFGHANISTAN: Women Who Push for Better Human Rights in Afghanistan Face Systematic Violence

In Afghanistan, despite a pledge from the government to protect women's rights and promote gender equality, more than 87% of Afghan women suffer from domestic abuse. According to the United Nations, between 60 to 80 percent of marriages are forced. In 2009, the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission registered about 2,269 cases of violence against women. In January of 2010 alone there were 235 cases.

DRC: WFP Will Help Displaced Restart Lives

After 18 months in camps, many of the families displaced by conflict in Eastern Congo are keen to go home and restart their lives. WFP Executive Director Josette recently visited Katsiru in North Kivu and found that, while some are held back by fears over security, others are taking the risk. In either case, WFP is helping.

SOUTHEAST ASIA: The Continuing Agony of Comfort Women

THIS IS not about the debate on purloined text and footnotes that found their way into a Supreme Court decision, and that has been picked up by bloggers abroad and by Prof. Evan Criddle, one of the affected authors who lamented that his writing had been lifted out of context to produce an opposite conclusion.

BURMA/MYANMAR: Female Political Prisoner Beaten by Guards

A female political prisoner in Kachin state's Putao prison was beaten up by prison guards when she tried to stop them from beating up two other inmates.

HAITI: Our Bodies Are Still Trembling: Haitian Women's Fight Against Rape

More than six months after Port-au-Prince was leveled by the January 12 earthquake, hundreds of thousands of displaced women and girls live in fear of rape in tent cities that lack lighting, privacy and security.

BURMA/MYANMAR: Burmese Women Expose Rapes by Military Regime

Women who have fled Burma to escape what they describe as systematic violence against women by the military have banded together to help other survivors.

Last week, their work was recognized by the Peter Gruber Foundation, which awarded them $200,000 and the 2005 International Women's Rights Prize. The award was given jointly to the Shan Women's Action Network and the Women's League of Burma.

BURMA/MYANMAR: The War on Burma's Women

It has been three years since the report ''License to Rape" exposed to the world how troops of the Burmese military regime have been committing systematic sexual violence against women in Shan state, one of the ethnic regions of Burma where civil war has been continuing for more than four decades.

SOUTH AFRICA: Africa's Men Fight for Women's Rights

Man Up, a provocative campaign to convince men to fight violence against women, kicked off in South Africa during the World Cup. Dayo Olopade reports from Johannesburg.

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