UNESCO - Rape as a Weapon of War

SI UN Representative, Marie-Christine, attended a UNESCO synposium on the topic of rape as a weapon of war at the end of last year.

The symposium was organized with UNESCO by the Catholic Relief Services - Caritas France and the “International Observatory of the use of rape as a tactic of war” with the support of several other organisations. The main objective was to refine and clarify the concepts related to rape in wartime.

During recent conflicts (Bosnia, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar) women have endured unprecedented levels of sexual violence and assault, leading to consequences including HIV infection, pregnancy and other health complications, as well as possible stigmatisation and exclusion from their communities. During the symposium, particularly courageous women victims provided damning testimony against the perpetrators of these acts in Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo and Myanmar.

In the past, there were also rapes committed by fighters against civilian enemies. But in the recent conflicts, it has been proved that these rapes were not accidental and sporadic. The rapes were a systematic integrated strategy of war, and even staged in front of civilian population attacked to annihilate the opponent by reaching deep into the social order of the community (read this story from the bbc).

Furthermore, among the heavy and lasting consequences of these abuses, it has been found that these crimes committed during war time persist in peace time: after the cease-fire, violent behaviours are entered in the customs and in particular, rape become much more frequent in these populations than in the others. These war actions lead to a real social breakdown.

These violent abuses are war crimes. Through four roundtables, the symposium approached the problem through the prism of history and geopolitics, anthropology, accompanying the victims and justice.

Soroptimist International has been campaigning on issues of gender based violence for many years. Clubs are urged to raise awareness about the increasing use of rape as a weapon of war and to lobby those in government who are in positions of influence. Marie Christine will continue to follow the debate at UNESCO so keep checking the blog and the members section of the SI website for more updates and reports.