The protocols also call for better training for soldiers and peacekeepers in war zones to help prevent and respond to sexual violence, and highlight the need to push past the stigma that is often placed on victims of rape and sexual violence by their families and communities. The two have been pushing for reform and visibility for wartime sexual violence for the last two years.Īmong their recommendations are for countries to strengthen laws prosecuting sexual violence and to increase funding and support for victims and human rights workers in war zones and post-conflict areas. More recently, the armed rebel group Boko Haram has used sexual violence against young women in northeastern Nigeria, reportedly kidnapping 20 more women on Tuesday from the town of Chibok, the same town where the militants had earlier abducted more than 300 schoolgirls in April.Īt the London conference, Hague and Jolie are presenting a document they drafted in 2013 outlining protocols ( PDF) for countries to fight wartime sexual violence and provide justice for victims it has been signed by more than 120 countries so far. Sexual violence in areas of armed conflict has been a long-documented tool of war, from the estimated 20,000 Bosnian women believed to have been raped before they were killed during the 1992–95 Bosnian war to more than 200,000 people who have been sexually assaulted by rebel groups in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo since 1996, according to the United Nations. He added, “We want this summit to shatter the culture of impunity for sexual violence, to increase support for survivors and to start changing the situation on the ground in the most affected countries.” In a speech opening the conference Tuesday morning, Hague compared wartime sexual violence - against women, men and children alike - to slavery in the 18th century, telling the crowd, “Now we know the facts, we cannot turn aside.” Secretary of State John Kerry, was organized by British Foreign Secretary William Hague and Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie, who is also a special envoy of the U.N. ![]() The four-day summit, which is expected to draw hundreds of dignitaries including U.S. Sexual violence in war has long been a taboo subject but, as this book shows, new and courageous steps are at last being taken Ð at both local and international level - to end what has been called the "greatest silence in history".Lawmakers and activists from over 100 different countries gathered in London on Tuesday for the start of a high-profile conference aimed at combating sexual violence in war zones and eliminating what experts have called a “culture of impunity.” The book concludes by looking at strategies of prevention and protection as well as new programs being set up on the ground to support the rehabilitation of survivors and their communities. ![]() Difficult questions of accountability are tackled in particular, the case of child soldiers, who often suffer a double victimization when forced to commit sexual atrocities. To understand the motivations of the men (and occasionally women) who perpetrate this violence, the book analyzes the role played by systemic and situational factors such as patriarchy and militarized masculinity. It explores the function and effect of wartime sexual violence and examines the conditions that make women and girls most vulnerable to these acts both before, during and after conflict. This book offers a comprehensive analysis of the causes, consequences and responses to sexual violence in contemporary armed conflict. Every year, hundreds of thousands of women become victims of sexual violence in conflict zones around the world in the Democratic Republic of Congo alone, approximately 1,100 rapes are reported each month.
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