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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BRAZIL: A Woman Killed Every Two Hours in Brazil

A woman is killed every two hours in Brazil and this average puts the country in 12th place among nations registering the most violent deaths of women, a study has said. Most of the victims are killed by relatives, husbands, boyfriends, former partners or men they rejected, the 2010 Map of Violence study said Tuesday.

INTERNATIONAL: Women Push for Gender Justice

Grace Lagulu was only 15 years old when she was abducted by the Lords Resistance Army, LRA, in 1987. She was forced to become a sex slave and bore two sons by a rebel commander who is now dead.

“I was an orphan,” she said. “I was abducted along with my brother, who was later killed in captivity. I was severely beaten.”

GUATEMALA: Ruling Opens Door to Asylum for Guatemalan Women Fleeing Violence

Washington, Jul 13 (EFE).- The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned deportation orders for a Guatemalan woman who had asked for asylum because she feared to be returned to her own country due to its high murder rate for women. In the ruling issued Monday by the San Francisco-based court, Judge Richard A. Paez decided that the case must be reviewed by the Board of Immigration Appeals, the highest entity enforcing U.S.

AFGHANISTAN: Afghan Women Fear Price of Peace Deal

Afghan women and girls fear they will pay the price for any deal to end the insurgency cut by President Hamid Karzai with the Taliban, a rights group said on Tuesday, pleading for safeguards of hard-won freedoms.

INDIA: UN Panel Reviews Women's Situation in India

A UN committee on the elimination of discrimination against women has begun a review of the situation of women in India and seven other countries. During its 19-day session, India will be reviewed on an exceptional basis, with the committee considering the country's follow-up report on the impact of the 2002 Gujarat massacres on women, the rld body said.

ZIMBABWE: Women Call for Truth, Justice and Reconciliation

Women's rights groups have urged the establishment of a Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission in Zimbabwe as part of bringing to justice people who committed human rights violations - including sexual abuse against women - during the run-up to a second-round presidential vote in June 2008.

ZIMBABWE: Video Testimonials Document Politically Motivated Sexual Violence in Zimbabwe

According to the Zimbabwe Rape Survivors Association, during last year's highly contested presidential election an estimated 2,000 women and girls were the targets of politically-motivated sexual violence in Zimbabwe.

GUATEMALA: Guatemalan Tied to Massacre Pleads Guilty in U.S.

A former Guatemalan soldier pleaded guilty Wednesday to concealing his role in a 1982 massacre of peasants by the army in his homeland when he applied for U.S. citizenship, authorities said.

KENYA: Demand better security for women in Nairobi's slums

More than half the residents of Nairobi live in informal settlements and slums with little or no police presence. Even in Kibera, Kenya's largest informal settlement where up to one million people live, there is no permanent police station or post.

HAITI: Six Months On, Women Continue their Daily Struggle for Survival

Living under tents, female survivors of the earthquake may no longer be openly mourning the tragic loss of their husbands and children. But as HPN's Géraldine Sainville reports, six months after the earthquake, many continue to struggle for their daily survival.

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