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What is conflict-related sexual violence?

The term ¡°conflict-related sexual violence¡± (CRSV) refers to rape, sexual slavery, forced prostitution, forced pregnancy, forced abortion, enforced sterilization, forced marriage, and any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity perpetrated against women, men, girls, or boys that is directly or indirectly linked to a conflict. Under international law, CRSV is a war crime, crime against humanity, crime of torture and can be a constitutive act of genocide.

Among its most prevalent root causes are pre-existing gender-based inequality, patriarchal social structures, poverty, and economic inequality.

Sexual violence in conflict is a despicable tactic of war and repression that destroys lives, terrorizes populations and fractures communities. We must listen to survivors, replace impunity with justice and indifference with action.¡±

- UN Secretary-General Ant¨®nio Guterres on the commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, 17 June 2022

CRSV Data, Trends and Patterns

In 2023, the UN classified 21 situations of concern - current conflict-affected areas, those that are post-conflict, and other situations of concern where CRSV trends and patterns exist.

Unfortunately, these statistics do not reflect the full scale of this crime.

UN¡¯s Response to CRSV

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict (SRSG-SVC), and its subsequent Office, was established in 2009 through Security Council resolution 1888. The Special Representative serves as the UN¡¯s spokesperson and political advocate on CRSV. She chairs the United Nations Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict (UN Action) Network and her work is supported by the United Nations Team of Experts on the Rule of Law/Sexual Violence in Conflict (TOE) and a programmatic team.

The Story of CRSV

This exhibition illustrates a journey that a CRSV survivor may go through, starting from actions taken prior to the occurrence of CRSV, the incident of the crime, and the various short- and long-term pursuits to help promote a survivor¡¯s safety, healing, and recovery.

Every survivor is unique, having been through their own experience and having different needs and ways of coping. This exhibition outlines a potential journey ¨C one that is not linear ¨C that survivors of CRSV could endure. It should not be forgotten that not all survivors have the opportunities, family, social or community networks, or capacity to move along the path to recovery. Survivors hold the decision to choose, or not choose, to undertake any services or activities.

Ultimately, there are as many stories as there are survivors.

Prevention of CRSV

What happened to me could have been prevented.¡±

- Survivor from Bosnia and Herzegovina reflecting on the CRSV incident perpetrated against her in November 1993

CRSV occurs before, during, and in the aftermath of conflict. It is driven by both armed conflict and gender inequality. As such, prevention measures and risk factors associated with CRSV draw from both conflict and gender-based violence, and include addressing root causes associated with political, economic and social inequalities, human rights violations, and drivers of insecurity and displacement such as climate change. Early signs of CRSV include threats against women human rights defenders, the outbreak of violence, and economic or political instability.

Therefore, preventing the occurrence of CRSV requires preventing the outbreak of conflict itself.

UN Action-funded trainings were conducted for more than 40 senior members of opposition forces in Diel, Central Upper Nile, in 2019 to identify concrete actions to help eliminate CRSV. UNMISS Photo

Officer beneficiaries who received trainings on the judicial handling of CRSV crimes in the DRC as part of UN Action-funded project in 2023. JHRO Photo

Multiple actors have a critical role to play in the prevention of CRSV, including governments, the UN system, non-governmental and civil society organisations, women¡¯s groups, survivor representatives, the private sector, and individuals.

Prevention can be accomplished by:

• Addressing stigma and root causes by targeting actions to advance gender equality
• Regulating availability and misuse of illicit small arms
• Increasing investment in human security and social support
• Ensuring accountability through laws and prosecution
• Securing commitments from conflict parties to prevent CRSV, and supporting sanctions against persistent perpetrators
• Supporting early warning systems and capacity building
• Engaging with vulnerable groups

UNODA's regional centre in Latin America and the Caribbean conducts a Firearms and Ammunition Evidence Management Course in El Salvador in December 2019. A series of technical elements were shared to incorporate a gender perspective in investigation processes of crimes committed with firearms with special attention to cases of violence against women. UNODA Photo

The Occurrence of CRSV

This video produced by the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) relays testimonies from conflict-related sexual violence survivors about the crimes committed against them and their effects. Anyone can be a CRSV survivor: women, girls, men, boys of all ages, those from the LGBTQI+ community, and persons with disabilities. Due to high rates of underreporting, CRSV is often a silent crime that results in low visibility among all actors that are positioned to help.

Video by Sonam Tharchen | Photo by Nektarios Markogiannis

After CRSV: The Survivor¡¯s Journey Begins

All forms of assistance must be conducted in a survivor-centred approach. This means that the survivors¡¯ rights, needs, and wishes are prioritised across any action with the objective to support them. The most recent resolution on CRSV, Security Council resolution 2467 (2019), articulates a survivor-centred approach for the first time in the UN¡¯s framework of responding to CRSV, recognising the importance of viewing survivors as leaders and agents of change, rather than just victims. Adopting a survivor-centred approach means creating a supportive environment for survivors, where they are the primary decision makers and can safely identify and express their needs and wishes.

Survivors know best what they need to heal and recover.¡±

¨C Nadia Murad, Yazidi survivor, activist and Nobel Prize laureate

Stage 1 - Immediate Assistance for Survivors

After the occurrence of a CRSV crime, survivors may be assisted by a range of actors. These include local non-governmental and civil society organisations, social workers, humanitarian workers, government agencies, police, and the military. In situations where the UN has a field presence, such as a peacekeeping operation or special political mission, the UN can provide assistance, including through its agencies and partners through Women¡¯s Protection Advisers or CRSV focal points.

To emphasise the collective effort to provide assistance and address the immediate needs of CRSV survivors, the OSRSG-SVC Conflict's Programme and Communications Team will work with the national authorities or non-state actors who signed communiqu¨¦s to develop implementation plans, in collaboration with civil society organisations. These plans further articulate concrete actions to ensure that there is a cohesive approach to preventing and responding to CRSV.

Immediate and Short-Term Assistance

In many instances, the aforementioned actors may assist survivors to access more specialised services, such as sexual and reproductive health care, medical and psychosocial services, and referrals to legal assistance. It is important that survivors are provided with comprehensive information so they can make informed choices, including choices about using multisectoral response services and the possible consequences of accessing those services.

One-Stop Centre Model

One-Stop Centres or mobile health clinics are types of service centres that may be available to survivors. They can cover a spectrum of multisectoral care and support for survivors of CRSV. The centres or mobile clinics can provide urgent, integrated and ethical services and facilitate timely response services under one roof.

Dignity Kit

Humanitarian actors often distribute Dignity Kits that typically contain menstrual hygiene materials, soap, underwear, and information on available gender-based violence services, including where and how to access those services. These kits can be tailored to each context, taking into consideration local languages, cultural, and religious garments.

Stage 2 - Medium- and Long-Term Assistance

Pursuing Justice & Accountability

As part of their journey, CRSV survivors may also wish to pursue legal action against their perpetrators. It is critical that legal services are available should they wish to utilise them. This includes access to legal aid centres and hotlines in local languages, the provision of materials and individual reparations, and participation in transitional justice processes in the long term. It is also critical that CRSV survivors are made aware of their rights to legal aid and assistance. Trials to prosecute CRSV crimes should be held in strict compliance with international standards, including in relation to procedural fairness, the full participation of victims, and the security and protection of all parties.

These are the veils and disguises that were worn during the Minova Rape Trials in the DRC. CRSV survivors wore them to protect their identities from the public due to stigma associated with sexual violence and risks of retaliation.

The Guinea Trial

In September 2023, current Special Representative Patten travelled to Guinea for the opening of the trial on the 13th anniversary of the massacre at the Conakry stadium (28 September 2009) that saw 150 deaths and countless rapes of women and girls. Through the Team of Experts on the Rule of Law and Sexual Violence in Conflict, the Office of Special Representative Patten supported the investigating judges until the closing of the investigation and the establishment of a Steering Committee for the organisation of the hearings.

Video produced by ONU Guin¨¦e (Video in French with English subtitles)

Undertaking Livelihood Activities, Skills Training, and Education

The majority of survivors come from socioeconomically marginalised communities, whereby stigma and discrimination surrounding survivors of sexual violence may restrict their access to education and economic life. It is therefore vital that efforts to assist CRSV survivors on their road to recovery include the provision of education, livelihood activities, and skills training, such as economic empowerment initiatives.

The impact of survivor empowerment and reintegration:

Through the UN Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, there are numerous multi-stakeholder initiatives undertaken to support CRSV survivors to become employed, self-sufficient, and educated. The following information showcases an example of how CRSV survivors participate in livelihood activities, skills training, and education through engagement with the UN Action Network.

Somalia

In a gathering space, discussions included early marriage, the roles of women in the security sector, and the roles of mothers in protecting their children from violence.

A cultural heritage event allowed participants to present their unique traditions, foods, arts, and dances to strengthen relationships among communities.

A pot-breaking exercise stimulated discussions about trust and responsibility.

Running between 2020 and 2021, UN Action funded a project that leveraged the strength of women in Somalia to mitigate CRSV and prevent violent extremism implemented by the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) and IOM. The project used culturally grounded approaches to assist women, who were formerly associated with violent extremist groups, recovering from trauma and provided economic empowerment support to ultimately ensure that the women became active contributors to sustainable peacebuilding in their societies. Survivors received individualised services, such as medical support, referrals, and specialised mental health counselling, and also participated in education, business development, and livelihood skills training to enable them to rebuild their lives, tailored to adapt to each woman¡¯s unique interests, needs, and goals.

Photography by IOM Somalia

Stage 3 - Survivors¡¯ Political Participation in Peacebuilding and Development Efforts

The Special Representative supports survivors to become agents of change and travels extensively to meet with CRSV survivors in various situations of concern, including in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and South America. These conversations with survivors help inform the Special Representative's advocacy efforts with UN Member States, including at the UN Security Council, as well as the strategic priorities and initiatives of their Office.

The UN has also worked to ensure that survivors and service providers are heard and present at the decision-making tables, including at Security Council briefings, political gatherings, and advocacy events.

At the 10th anniversary of the CRSV mandate in 2019, survivors were invited to speak at the UN Headquarters in New York to showcase how they were able to overcome their trauma, become agents of their own change, and participate in wider peacebuilding activities to advance the mandate. Many of these survivors have used their stories to help other survivors, including by founding non-governmental organisations, men¡¯s groups, and associations.

Badryia, a survivor from Iraq: ¡°Nobody can stop me. Not even ISIS.¡± UN Photo

A women¡¯s shelter in Iraq being opened with advocacy support from Special Representative Patten in 2018. Photo/UNFPA Iraq

Aim¨¦, a survivor from the DRC, has used his experience to form a male survivor-led support group that brings together male survivors of CRSV. UN Photo

?ngela, a survivor from Colombia: ¡°With our empowerment and leadership, we have not only managed to confront stigmatisation and support other victims who see us as an example, we have also become advocates for the rights of girls and women.¡± UN Photo

15-Year Anniversary

UN Photo

2024 marks the 15-year anniversary of the creation of the UN¡¯s agenda to prevent and respond to CRSV, and specifically the creation of the role of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict. Attention is needed to bolster and reinforce the UN's work on CRSV, specifically in supporting survivors in their journey to recovery and healing. Although this exhibition detailed a potential journey of a survivor, the majority of survivors do not receive any treatment or services in the immediate, short, medium or long term. Many of the survivors who are able to physically recover are still waiting for justice and accountability. It is critical that their stories are heard and their needs are met.

Sponsors and Collaborators

This exhibition, A Conflict-Related Sexual Violence (CRSV) Survivor¡¯s Journey, is presented by the United Nations Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict (UN Action) Network, a coordinated body of 25 UN entities, hosted under the UN Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict. The exhibition was organised in collaboration with frontline service providers, Women¡¯s Protection Advisers, SEMA (the Global Network of Victims and Survivors to End Wartime Sexual Violence), the Dr. Denis Mukwege Foundation, the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, the Government of Japan, the Government of Norway, Biblioth¨¨ques Sans Fronti¨¨res, and VMLY&R.