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: Getting Away with Rape

When nine-year-old Jeanne* from North Kivu Province in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was raped by a neighbour, her parents were determined he would not get away with it. With the help of an international organization that provides legal services for victims of sexual violence, they contacted the police and got a lawyer.

Then the DRC's legal system kicked in.

SOUTH AFRICA: Should Women Fear a Zuma Presidency? Maybe Not

Jacob Zuma was inaugurated as the new president of South Africa on 9 May, with his party, the African National Congress, having achieved a resounding victory in the recent elections. In what has been described as the most competitive election yet to take place in a post-apartheid South Africa, the ANC and Mr. Zuma clearly retain the support and trust of the vast majority of voters, men and women.

PAKISTAN: The War Against Pakistani Women

Terrorism and Afghan insurgency have so overshadowed other issues in Pakistan that it sometimes feels like we -- common Pakistanis -- have no other issues. Take, for example, women rights. Here I am not insinuating feminism or related issues. We are still stuck at basics in this country.

KYRGYZSTAN: Look to Women to End Conflict in Kyrgyzstan

"Even now, I can't find the words to explain the kinds of horrors that are happening,” wrote Nurjan Tulegabylova with El Agartuu, a women's organization based in Kyrgyzstan. “There are burned houses, but the worst is that corpses of people are lying on the street.”

ALGERIA: CIA Chief in Algeria Sent Home on Rape Allegations

The CIA's top officer in Algeria has been returned to Washington amid allegations that he drugged and raped two women at his Algiers residence, an accusation that presents the Obama administration's new intelligence team with an unexpected legal and diplomatic crisis even before it officially takes office.

DRC: Congo's Feminist Fight

The road from the Rwanda-Congo border to Bukavu—a war-torn city on the southeastern edge of Lake Kivu—was almost impassable. Intermittent, torrential rain showers turned the rutted, cratered road into a bog of red mud. On the shoulders, an endless procession of Congolese men and women carried babies slung to their backs and loads of vegetables, eggs, and bananas on their heads.

ALGERIA: Algeria Breaks Silence on Violence Against Women

Her face is swollen, her eyes are red and her nightdress is torn in places. Fatima tries not to let us see what has happened to her. After being beaten last night by her younger brother, she is now one of ten patients in a small hospital in Rouiba on the outskirts of Algiers.

IRAN: Iran Must Halt Woman's Death By Stoning

It is clearly stated in Article 5 of the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights that, "No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment."

ISRAEL: Israeli Soldier to be Charged over Deaths of Gaza Women

An Israel soldier is to face manslaughter charges for shooting dead two Palestinian women during Israel's invasion of the Gaza Strip in January 2009.

INTERNATIONAL: Peacekeepers Share Innovations to Stop Sexual Violence

A new UN publication for the first time highlights the best tactics employed by international peacekeepers to stop sexual violence as a tactic of war. Addressing Conflict-Related Sexual Violence—An Analytical Inventory of Peacekeeping Practice is part of a broader agenda to improve the capacities of peacekeepers to protect civilians.

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