Sexual Violence
as a Weapon of War
"The rampant and brutal abuse of women in war zones continues unchecked"
The chair of a United Nations committee said in October, urging all nations to ratify the international Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
“Violence against women in the context of armed conflict is widespread and largely unpunished” Naéla Gabr, chair of the committee monitoring compliance with CEDAW told the General Assembly.
A senior United Nations human rights official called on international troops fighting militants in Afghanistan to follow directives designed to guard against civilian deaths, drawing particular attention to the plight of children caught up in the conflict.
Last year, some 346 children were killed by warring factions in Afghanistan, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict Radhika Coomaraswamy told reporters in Kabul.
“One hundred and thirty-one of these were by aerial strikes, 22 by search-and-raid by Special Forces; 128 were killed by anti-Government elements, including assassinations and suicide bombings,” said Ms. Coomaraswamy.
Widespread & systematic sexual violence in war devastates families and communities, says 'Physicians for Human Rights'.
Women and War - Ocha
"The trauma for female victims of violence continues even when the conflict is over"
Women and girls are vulnerable to sexual violence, trafficking and mutilation, whether at home, in flight or in camps for displaced populations. The trauma for female victims of violence continues even when the conflict is over, as they are frequently shunned, ostracized and further stigmatized.
However, recent trends driven by leading women scholars and activists tend to emphasize women's strengths not their vulnerability. Women play a prominent role in rebuilding war-torn societies and social resources.
"Women community leaders facilitate mediation and reconciliation"
Women community leaders facilitate mediation and reconciliation, and constitute a primary force of immediate economic activity that is still under-examined and underutilized.
In Colombia, Cambodia, East Timor, Guatemala, Liberia, Mozambique, Somalia and many other places, women have set examples for building peace across clans, political affiliations and ethnicity. Unfortunately, with a few exceptions, such as Burundi, Guatemala and South Africa, women have not been present in formal peace negotiations.
"Women were not invited to participate in the Dayton talks"
"Women were not invited to participate in the Dayton talks, even though during the conflict 40 women's associations remained organized and active across ethnic lines."
The role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and peace building needs to be recognized and utilized at the local, national and international levels.
War - whether international or non-international - causes enormous suffering for those caught up in it. The present study aims to demonstrate that women experience war in a multitude of ways - from taking an active part as combatants to being targeted as members of the civilian population or because they are women.
Women’s experience of war is multifaceted - it means separation, the loss of family members and livelihood, an increased risk of sexual violence, wounding, deprivation and death. War forces women into unfamiliar roles and necessitates the strengthening of existing coping skills and the development of new ones. However, the general and specific protection to which women are entitled must become a reality.
"Women themselves must be more closely involved in all the measures taken"
Constant efforts must be made to promote knowledge of and compliance with the obligations of international humanitarian law by as wide an audience as possible and using all available means. Everyone must be made responsible for improving the plight of women in times of war, and women themselves must be more closely involved in all the measures taken on their behalf.
WOMEN FACING WAR
ICRC STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF
ARMED CONFLICT ON WOMEN
Executive Summary
Author: Charlotte Lindsey
Sexual Violence as a War Tactic
The United Nations Security Council is failing to make good on its promises to stop rape in war, Human Rights Watch. The council should immediately create a high-level coordinator for efforts to prevent and punish sexual violence in conflict, the organization said.
On June 19, 2008, the Security Council adopted the ground-breaking resolution 1820, spelling out concrete obligations of individual countries and United Nations entities to prevent and punish sexual violence when it is used as a weapon of war. But such violence in many places is unabated or worse, and the Security Council has not made use of its powers to stop it.
Sexual Abuse by UN Peacekeepers
The resolution included explicit commitments to prosecute sexual abuse committed by UN peacekeepers and to oblige peacekeepers to prioritize the protection of women and girls, but to little effect.
"The Security Council has been all talk and no action"
"The Security Council has been all talk and no action when it comes to protecting women in war zones... Even after the council members' May visit to Congo - which currently has the worst record on rape in war - it's back to business as usual."
Marianne Mollmann, women's rights advocate at Human Rights Watch
War Zones
Raping for Technology
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