International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict | United Nations (original) (raw)

Young women are seated indoors in a large circle

Awareness raising session at UN Women Multi-Purpose Women’s Centres. Empowerment, participation and leadership; a Rohingya Refugee Programme in Bangladesh.

Photo:UN Women/Khaled Arafat Ahmed

Hospitals and other healthcare facilities should be beacons of safety and healing for all those injured in conflict, including the survivors of sexual violence. These are fundamental tenets of international humanitarian law."

UN Secretary-General António Guterres

Hospital security is critical to helping survivors of sexual violence heal

The world is currently experiencing the highest number of conflicts since World War II, resulting in a record 117 million people forced to flee their homes. Disregard for international law, arms proliferation, and increasing militarization are exacerbating sexual violence and posing serious threats to the safety of civilians, including vulnerable groups.

Attacks on civilian infrastructures, such as healthcare facilities, are intensifying, depriving communities of fundamental rights such as the right to health and posing challenges for safe reporting and response. This poses serious threats to the safety of civilians, including vulnerable groups such as survivors of conflict-related sexual violence, as hospitals are essential to provide life-saving assistance in conflict-affected areas.

Conflict-related sexual violence has long-lasting harmful effects on victims and is used as a tactic of war, torture, and terrorism. It has devastating physical, sexual, reproductive, and mental health effects and destroys communities' social fabric. Women and girls face brutal forms of sexual violence, and armed groups often control access to medical services. Most women and girls do not seek medical attention owing to fear, stigma or prevailing insecurity. Destruction of health facilities, killing of health workers, and humanitarian access constraints hinder life-saving assistance for survivors.

let us pledge to eliminate this scourge, stand in solidarity with survivors, and reaffirm our commitment to protecting hospitals and healthcare facilities during conflict

António Guterres

Military use of hospitals: A threat to facilities, personnel and patients

Attacks on healthcare facilities in conflict zones have devastating consequences for pregnant, nursing, and new mothers, including the unprecedented scale of women and girls reported to have died before or during childbirth. It's crucial to ensure their safety, provide comprehensive care, and support survivors to prevent long-term harm and marginalization. Ensuring the safety of hospitals in conflict zones is paramount for the well-being of survivors of sexual violence and persons at risk and supporting their quests for justice and redress.

The military use of hospitals threatens the civilian nature of these institutions and exposes patients and medical personnel to increased risks. International humanitarian law protects hospitals from attacks and emphasizes the principles of distinction and proportionality.

The international community needs to ensure the protection of these structures as they are vital for survivors of sexual violence. Financial support should prioritize survivor-centered responses in conflict situations, including comprehensive support services, access to justice, and socioeconomic reintegration.

We must guarantee safe and equitable access to inclusive and quality education, including digital literacy for all.

International cooperation must be enhanced to counter increasing sexual and gender-based violence, harassment and hate speech occurring both offline and online, as these pose a real threat to democracy by weakening women and girls’ participation in society.

Survivors of sexual violence receive treatment at the Hospital of Panzi, in the Democratic Republic of Congo

2024 Event

10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. EDT Wednesday, 19 June 2024 Conference Room 11, UNHQ, New York

Event to commemorate the 10th official observance of the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict co-hosted by the Office of the SRSG on Sexual Violence in Conflict, the Office of the SRSG for Children and Armed Conflict, and the Permanent Mission of Argentina to the United Nations.

The purpose of the event is to stand in solidarity with survivors, and those supporting them, to spark hope, knowledge and inspiration as we lift our voices to say: “#EndRapeInWar”.

Background

Definition and prevalence

The term “conflict-related sexual violence” 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. The term also encompasses trafficking in persons when committed in situations of conflict for the purpose of sexual violence or exploitation.

A consistent concern is that fear and cultural stigma converge to prevent the vast majority of survivors of conflict-related sexual violence from coming forward to report such violence. Practitioners in the field estimate that for each rape reported in connection with a conflict, 10 to 20 cases go undocumented.

UN Resolutions

On 19 June 2015, the United Nations General Assembly (A/RES/69/293) proclaimed 19 June of each year the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, in order to raise awareness of the need to put an end to conflict-related sexual violence, to honour the victims and survivors of sexual violence around the world and to pay tribute to all those who have courageously devoted their lives to and lost their lives in standing up for the eradication of these crimes.

The date was chosen to commemorate the adoption on 19 June 2008 of Security Council resolution 1820 (2008), in which the Council condemned sexual violence as a tactic of war and an impediment to peacebuilding.

In response to the rise in violent extremism, the Security Council adopted resolution S/RES/2331 (2016), the first to address the nexus between trafficking, sexual violence, terrorism and transnational organized crime. Acknowledging sexual violence as a tactic of terrorism, it further affirmed that victims of trafficking and sexual violence committed by terrorist groups should be eligible for official redress as victims of terrorism.

Resources

Other reports

Publications

Multimedia

"If you look at the history of war, and the conflicts around the world, and time immemorial, sexual violence has been used in every war as a tactic of war" - Pramila Patten (Secretary-General's Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict)

Listen to the interview in Awake at Night S3-Episode 26: It Breaks Your Heart to Hear About the Brutality

"“The issue of impunity, the knowledge that one can rape a mother, a daughter, a son, a child and get away with it, feeds the pathology that keeps this issue dire and growing”, Zimbabwean American actress Danai Gurira.

painting of woman with gloved hand over mouth

Exhibition: ‘Horror and hope’

women demonstrating

UN Action

United Nations Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict (UN Action) brings together 24 UN entities with the goal of ending sexual violence during and in the wake of armed conflict.

Launched in 2007, it represents a concerted effort by the UN to ‘deliver as one’ – improving coordination and accountability, amplifying advocacy and supporting country-level efforts to prevent conflict-related sexual violence and respond more effectively to the needs of survivors.

an abstract illustration of people engaged in an event

Why do we mark International Days?

International days and weeks are occasions to educate the public on issues of concern, to mobilize political will and resources to address global problems, and to celebrate and reinforce achievements of humanity. The existence of international days predates the establishment of the United Nations, but the UN has embraced them as a powerful advocacy tool. We also mark other UN observances.