During Sierra Leone’s 11-year civil war – which ended in 2001 – there was a high incidence of sexual assault against women and young girls.1 Return of peace has not meant that women and girls are safe from sexual assault.…
During the war in Bosnia, thousands of women were raped. Medica mondiale was founded in 1993 to respond to their urgent need for protection and support – and now also works with women in Albania, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Liberia, Iraq, India,…
A report from Human Rights Watch (HRW) has documented how cases of violence ranging from spousal and child abuse to rape, incest and murders committed under the guise of family ‘honour’ often go unreported and unpunished. Discriminatory criminal legislation in…
It has long been recognised that to fully address the issue of GBV, both prevention and response activities must be in place. What has only been more recently acknowledged is that active male engagement is fundamental to successful GBV prevention…
For several decades Colombia has been fought over by legal and illegal armed actors – the Colombian armed forces, right-wing paramilitaries and left-wing guerrillas. Negotiations between the Colombian government and the right-wing Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia – a federation of…
Manta is an isolated rural community in Huancavelica, a poor Andean region of Peru. According to the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (CVR) Final Report,1 Manta endured systematic sexual violence during the 1980-2000 insurgency led by Sendero Luminoso (a Maoist…
Prevention of and response to sexual violence will require long-term, multisectoral and coordinated efforts focusing on the economic, health, legal, psychosocial and security concerns of affected populations. In order to achieve tangible results, cooperation at all levels is vital. In…
Militaries, militias, men carrying arms, government and non-state actors, neighbours, trusted leaders and men in positions of power have all perpetrated violence against women and girls in times of conflict and displacement. Although rape, sexual assault, sexual slavery, forced prostitution,…
The south-eastern counties of Grand Gedeh, River Gee, Sinoe, River Cess and Maryland make up much of the hinterland of Liberia. Governed by a different set of laws, the area is populated by indigenous Liberians – referred to as the…
In 2005 the American Refugee Committee (ARC)1 and Communication for Change (C4C)2 launched a community-based video project to raise awareness of and help prevent sexual and gender-based violence in conflict-affected communities. Since the end of Liberia’s 14-year long civil war…