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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INTERNATIONAL: "Truly Exciting If the U.S. Could Ratify CEDAW" - Part 2

CEDAW or the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Violence Against Women (CEDAW) was adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in 1979.

INTERNATIONAL: Three Decades of Progress on Women's Rights, but Major Obstacles to Equality Persist

In Cameroon it was used to bring justice to village women suffering rape and other physical abuse from their husbands. In Morocco it sparked legal reforms hailed as “revolutionary” in their ability to reconcile universal human rights principles and that country's Islamic heritage. And in India it enabled sexual harassment in the workplace to be outlawed.

INTERNATIONAL: Ban Launches New Network of Men Leaders to Combat Violence Against Women

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today marked the 10th anniversary of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women by launching a Network of Men Leaders, a major new initiative bringing together current and former politicians, activists, religious and community figures to combat the global pandemic.

INTERNATIONAL: Women Nobel Peace Laureates & Women's Rights Leaders Urge Secretary of State Clinton to Condemn Violence Against Women in Honduras

More than 175 human rights and feminist leaders--including three Nobel Peace Prize winners and leaders of national and international women's organizations—today sent an Open Letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today, urging her to condemn widespread violations of women's human rights in Honduras.

INTERNATIONAL: UN Pledges Millions to Fight Violence Against Women

The United Nations announced Tuesday $10.5 million in new grants to bolster international efforts to end violence against women.

INTERNATIONAL: UNHCR Chief Reiterates Commitment to Prevention of Sexual Violence

UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres stressed on Wednesday that his agency was fully committed to the prevention of sexual violence, which he said needed a personal as well as a collective response.

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Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon led a chorus of United Nations officials today in calling on the international community to make greater efforts to tackle the global pandemic of violence against women and girls.

INTERNATIONAL: Women Still Suffer Discrimination 30 Years After Global Treaty Banned it – UN Chief

Thirty years after an international treaty banning discrimination against women came into force, women and girls are still suffering from the scourge, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned today.

BURMA: US Women's Issues Envoy Seeks Junta Accountability

The US Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues Melanne Verveer said on Saturday that Burma's military junta must be held accountable for human rights abuses against the country's women.

“We have said over and over that there must be accountability for these human rights violations,” she said, adding that those guilty of crimes against women should be prosecuted.

INTERNATIONAL: UN Women's Treaty Weakened By Slew of Reservations

A landmark UN treaty on women's rights, which will be 30 years old next week, is in danger of being politically undermined by a slew of reservations by 22 countries seeking exemptions from some of the convention's legal obligations.

"A reservation must not defeat the object and purpose of a treaty," Ambassador Palitha Kohona, a former chief of the UN Treaty Section, told IPS.

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