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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RWANDA: Empowering Genocide Widows

Sixteen years after the Rwandan genocide, many women are struggling to come to terms with the violence they endured.

According to the association of genocide widows NGO, Avega Agahozo, sexual violence was used to humiliate, degrade and abuse women during the 6 April to 16 July 1994 killings. In many cases, the violence was meted out before, during or after the women had witnessed the killing of a relative.

DRC: Orphaned, Raped and Ignored

Sometimes I wish eastern Congo could suffer an earthquake or a tsunami, so that it might finally get the attention it needs. The barbaric civil war being waged here is the most lethal conflict since World War II and has claimed at least 30 times as many lives as the Haiti earthquake.

Yet no humanitarian crisis generates so little attention per million corpses, or such a pathetic international response.

EASTERN CONGO: "Women Are Afraid They Could be Raped Any Night Here"

Julie had just blown out the kerosene lamp and was lying in bed next to her husband when suddenly the stillness of the night was pierced by enraged shouts and the sound of a door being kicked open. Eight armed men burst into her house in a small village in Democratic Republic of Congo's North Kivu province, wielding machetes and automatic rifles.

DRC: Violence in the Congo

The UN Security Council faces a Srebrenica moment when it votes on December 21st to renew the mandate for MONUC, its largest global peacekeeping mission, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

DRC: Congo Might Expel UN Officials in Dispute Over War, Envoy Says

The Democratic Republic of Congo might expel leaders of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in retaliation for increased pressure on the nation's army to halt violence against civilians, the Congolese ambassador said.

PHILIPPINES: Women's Rights Laws in Place


October 28, 2009 - (IPS) Although the enacting in August of the Magna Carta of Women (MCW) - a major law aiming to end discrimination against women across the archipelago - was well-received here, there remain concerns about whether the legislation will be fully implemented.

PHILIPPINES: Mindanao Women Outraged over Maguindanao Carnage

Calling it as bestial act, Mindanao women expressed their outrage over the Maguindanao massacre where innocent civilians, mostly women and journalists were summarily killed in broad daylight.

“If unarmed women, lawyers and journalists are not safe, who is safe?” the Mindanao women in their statement said.

PHILIPPINES: Philippine Official Says Victims Were Sexually Mutilated

Most or all of the 22 women among the 57 people massacred Monday in the southern Philippines were sexually mutilated, the authorities said Friday, adding grim details to the catalog of horrors that has already emerged.

PHILIPPINES: Philippine Police Probe Says Women Possibly Raped Before Massacre

Philippine police investigators on Thursday said five women might have been raped before they were killed in the country's worst election-related violence last week while forensic experts found evidence indicating the toll could still rise.

LIBERIA: The Fight Against Rape a Brutal Wait

From Monrovia's highest hill, the long sliver of Atlantic Ocean shoreline at the mouth of the Mesurado River, with its aqua blue waves, golden sand and wooden fishing boats, looks like paradise.

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