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…
Almost all southern Sudan’s key development indicators are the lowest in the world.1 Severe gender disparity is manifest in access to education and health and differential life expectancy. Only 5% of births are attended by skilled health staff2 and maternal…
Perhaps nowhere is the danger of assault whilst gathering firewood more evident than in Darfur. Women and girls trek for hours a day in the hope of finding a few branches or roots to burn. To avoid the midday sun,…
The following is extracted from a recent UNFPA/UNICEF report on The Effects of Conflict on Health and Well-Being of Women and Girls in Darfur: Conversations with the Community.1 How do the women and girls of Darfur assess the risks they…
Based in Sarajevo as a public health advisor for WHO during the Bosnian war, I saw only a small fraction of the 40,000 or more women and girls who had been raped. But I recall being numbed by the extent…