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: Rebuilding Lives after War and Rape in the DRC

The eastern DRC has become synonymous with war and rape. In recent years, various rebel groups have attacked and looted villages, driving civilians into the bush to escape. Attempts by government forces and U.N. troops to defeat them have often made matters worse for civilians, as militias launch retaliatory strikes against villagers. But many aid groups working in the region have blamed all warring parties for attacks on civilians.

INTERNATIONAL: Wallstrom Reports Congo Still Needs U.N. Troops

President Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo would like to see the U.N. start drawing out its peacekeeping forces in June and be completely gone by August 2011.

Margot Wallstrom, the secretary general's special representative for sexual violence in conflict, thinks otherwise, and told the U.N. Security Council so before last week's visit by council members and other diplomats to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

SOUTHERN AFRICA: A Loud and Clear No to Violence Against Women

Poet activist Myesha Jenkins' voice reverberated through the hall: "Women are out in the night; we are cleaning the streets, some walking the streets..."

Jenkins's verse was echoed by fellow poets Zanele Faith Mavuso and Aura Zawanzaruwa who spoke of the pain of violence and the strength of women.

AFGHANISTAN: Women's Rights Trampled Despite New Law

As the world marks International Women's Day, ambivalence, impunity, weak law enforcement and corruption continue to undermine women's rights in Afghanistan, despite a July 2009 law banning violence against women, rights activists say.

A recent case of the public beating of a woman for alleged elopement - also shown on private TV stations in Kabul - highlights the issue.

INTERNATIONAL: Tackling Sexual Violence Must Include Prevention, Ending Impunity – UN Official

Fresh from her visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which she described as the “rape capital of the world,” a senior United Nations official today urged the Security Council to make the prevention of sexual violence a top priority, and stressed the need to end impunity for the scourge.

DRC: UN Official Calls DR Congo 'Rape Capital of the World'

The Democratic Republic of Congo is "the rape capital of the world", a senior UN official has said.

Margot Wallstrom, the UN's special representative on sexual violence in conflict, urged the Security Council to punish the perpetrators in DR Congo.

Rape remained a dominant feature of the ongoing conflict in eastern DR Congo, with impunity being the rule rather than the exception, she said.

DRC: U.N. Official Fears Congo Is Overcome by Violence

As his plane cut through the clouds above eastern Congo on Friday, John Holmes, the United Nations' top humanitarian official, looked down pensively at the miles and miles of thick forest covering one of the most chronically afflicted parts of Africa, if not the world.

“It's hard not to despair about Congo,” he said.

CENTRAL AFRICA: Africa's Indigenous Batwa Community Decries High Rate of Violence Against Women

The original inhabitants of the equatorial forests of Africa's Great Lakes region – the Batwa Indigenous community - are decrying the high rate of violence against women, says a new report.

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