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.

For more resources on this Critical Issue, visit PeaceWomen Resource Center >>

COLOMBIA: Indigenous Women in Colombia Caught up in Conflict

In Colombia, indigenous groups continue to be targets in the 45-year conflict. Testimonies from displaced Embera women tell of physical abuse and rape.

HAITI: CEDAW Shadow Report Highlights Gun Violence

Guerda Benjamin from OFAT Haiti reports on how IANSA women are using a CEDAW Shadow Report to urge the government to take action to reduce and prevent gun violence against women.

PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Where Violence Against Women is Rampant

Papua New Guinea has made the international news again with a horrific story to reinforce stereotypes about the country: sorcery, sex, and fire. On January 6, a group of men reportedly stripped a woman naked, bound her hands and feet, stuffed a cloth in her mouth, and burned her alive on a dumpsite. Rumor has it that she had "confessed" to having eaten a man's heart.

VENEZUELA: Venezuela Expands Outlets for Denunciations of Violence Against Women

Since the Law on the Right of Women to a Life Free of Violence was passed in 2007, the number of denunciations of violence against women has tripled in Venezuela, as women become more aware of their rights and have more access to the courts.

ECUADOR: Brothels in Ecuador Skirt Law Banning Minors

Brothels in the petroleum port province of Esmeraldas provide an employment magnet for underage women. A significant number are lured into the work by a man they consider a romantic partner. Third of six on Ecuador's sex industry.

The clients start filing in shortly after lunch. Beer flows. Women lead them into tiny rooms. A young woman sits to the side, forlorn, making no effort to get their attention.

TIMOR-LESTE: Female Police Officers Work to End Gender-based Violence

For Police Sub-inspectors Maria Fatima Martins and Daria Ximenes, finding a temporary shelter for victims and witnesses of domestic and sexual gender-based violence is part of their job. It is their way of dealing with the pressing need to shelter the victims and witnesses of homicide and sexual violence in the country.

Fiji: Ruth Lechte, Veteran Activist, on Crisis in Fiji

In the wake of the UN Security Council calling for restoration of democracy and fair elections in Fiji, the World YWCA continues to stand in support and solidarity of the women of Fiji. With no judiciary, constitution or elections in sight, the World YWCA has asked four Fijian women leaders to reflect on the situation in their country and share their hopes and fears for the women of Fiji.

FIJI: Fiji NGO Says Report Shows Deterioration of Pacific Women Status

A women's community organisation based in Fiji says its report on women, peace and human security shows a deterioration in the status of women across the Pacific.

The co-ordinator of Femlink Pacific says it'll present the first quarter report for this year to a meeting of regional women's community media networks today.

The meeting brings together peacewomen from Bougainville, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Fiji.

MEXICO: Indigenous Rape Victims Fight Military Impunity

The aberrations of Mexican justice were clearly visible in the cases of rape and torture allegedly committed by soldiers in 2002 against two indigenous women, Inés Fernández and Valentina Rosendo. But their experiences are not exceptional in rural areas of the southern state of Guerrero.

PERU: Teen Rape Victim Files Case Against Peru in U.N. Committee

Today, a 16-year-old Peruvian rape survivor who suffered devastating consequences after being denied an abortion filed a human rights petition against her government before the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). The CEDAW Committee monitors states' compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

Pages