Violence

Women, War, Peace and Violence Against Women


Introduction

Around the world, women and girls are victims of countless acts of violence. In a great many of these instances, the violence is not random — women and girls are victims because they are female. The range of gender-based acts of violence in conflict is devastating, occurring, quite literally, from womb to tomb. Among other abuses, violence against women includes: rape, sexual mutilation, purposeful infection with HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections (STI), forced impregnation, forced abortion, female genital mutilation (FGM), sexual harassment, trafficking, forced prostitution, dowry-related violence, domestic violence, battering, and marital rape. Violence against women and girls occurs in every segment of society — regardless of class, ethnicity, culture, country or whether the country is at peace or war.

Women’s bodies, deliberately infected with HIV/AIDS or carrying a child conceived in rape, have been used as means to undermine, disgrace and threaten the perceived enemy. In Rwanda , at least 250,000 — perhaps as many as 500,000 — women were raped during the 1994 genocide. more… Women often face violence in wartime due to the nexus between their gender and their other identities. In Bosnia , Muslim women were targeted for rape as part of the “ethnic cleansing” campaign to form a ethnically pure Greater Serbia. Over 20,000 women are thought to have been raped during the war.  more…

During the series of women's conferences and other UN conferences between 1975 and 1995, the international community came to acknowledge the range — and frequency — of gender-based violence, and redefined how these acts of violence are dealt with in international policies. The most comprehensive international policy statements about gender-based violence are the Declaration against Violence against Women adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1993, the Platform for Action from the UN Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. These documents define gender-based violence as a violation of women's human rights, as war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and a form of discrimination that prevents women from participating fully in society and fulfilling their potential as human beings. 

"Wartime sexual violence has been one of history's greatest silences. On June 19, 2007 unanimously-adopted Security Council Resolution 1820 ends - once and for all - the debate on whether systematic sexual violence belongs on the Council agenda. In the words of United States Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice, who chaired the debate, "today we respond to that lingering question with a resounding yes". For the full text of the resolution, please click here.

Key Terms

Violence against Women: The Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (DEVAW) defines violence against women as "any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life."

Article 2 of DEVAW elaborates that violence against women encompasses but is not limited to the following: (a) Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring in the family, including battering, sexual abuse of female children in the household, dowry-related violence, marital rape, female genital mutilation and other traditional practices harmful to women, non-spousal violence and violence related to exploitation; (b) Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring within the general community, including rape, sexual abuse, sexual harassment and intimidation at work, in educational institutions and elsewhere, trafficking in women and forced prostitution; (c) Physical, sexual and psychological violence perpetrated or condoned by the State, wherever it occurs. more...

 

Treaties and Institutions

  • Convention on the Political Rights of Women (full text)
  • Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (DEVAW) (full text)
  • Declaration on the Protection of Women and Children in Emergency and Armed Conflict (full text)
  • Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography: analyses the root causes of the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography; identifies new patterns of sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography; identifies, exchanges and promotes best practices on measures to combat the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography; continues efforts to promote comprehensive strategies and measures on the prevention of sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography; makes recommendations on the promotion and protection of human rights of children actual or potential victims of sale, prostitution and pornography, as well as on the aspects related to the rehabilitation of child victims of sexual exploitation. more...
  • Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences: seeks and receives information on violence against women, its causes and consequences from Governments, treaty bodies, specialized agencies, other special rapporteurs responsible for various human rights questions and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, including women's organizations, and to respond effectively to such information; recommend measures, ways and means, at the national, regional and international levels, to eliminate violence against women and its causes, and to remedy its consequences; work closely with other special rapporteurs, special representatives, working groups and independent experts of the Commission on Human Rights, the Human Rights Council, and with the treaty bodies. more...
  • Special Rapporteur on Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment: transmits urgent appeals to States with regard to individuals reported to be at risk of torture, as well as communications on past alleged cases of torture; undertakes fact-finding country visits; and submits annual reports on activities, the mandate and methods of work to the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly. more...
  • UN Secretary-General's Campaign to End Violence Against Women: raises public awareness and increasing political will and resources for preventing and responding to all forms of violence against women and girls – in all parts of the world. more...
  • UN Security Council Resolution 1325: calls on “all parties to armed conflict to take special measures to protect women and girls from gender-based violence, particularly rape and other forms of sexual abuse, and all other forms of violence in situations of armed conflict.” more...
  • UN Security Council Resolution 1820: This resolution recognizes sexual violence as a tactic of war and that asserts the Council’s responsibility to seek reports from the Secretary-General on the matter and to improve the UN’s prevention and protection response to this atrocity, including through the training of peacekeeping personnel. more...
  • International Humanitarian Law, Geneva Conventions: The four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their two Additional Protocols of 1977 are the principal instruments of humanitarian law. The four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their two Additional Protocols of 1977 protect women (and men) as members of the civilian population not taking part in an armed conflict. Women (and men) as members of the armed forces are also protected when captured by the enemy. more...
  • Human Rights Law: The UN Charter was the first international instrument to acknowledge “human rights.” Unlike many constitutional rights, the Charter does not invoke natural law as a basis for the existence of human rights (see preamble). Rather, human rights are inherent in human dignity. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) along with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic and Social and Cultural Rights (1966) are often referred to by some western scholars as the “International Bill of Rights.” Beginning with the Vienna Conference on Human Rights in 1993, women activists joined together to call for the recognition of women’s rights as human rights.
  • Refugee Law: The 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, which was drafted as a result of a recommendation by the newly established United Nations Commission on Human Rights, was a landmark in setting standards for the treatment of refugees. The 1967 Protocol extended the application of the Convention to the situation of "new refugees" more...

 

International Organizations

 

  • Amnesty International: conducts research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated. more...
  • Human Rights Watch: one of the world’s leading independent organizations dedicated to defending and protecting human rights. more...
  • International Rescue Committee (IRC): a global network of first responders, humanitarian relief workers, healthcare providers, educators, community leaders, activists, and volunteers; provide access to safety, sanctuary, and sustainable change for millions of people whose lives have been shattered by violence and oppression. more...
  • Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): the principal United Nations office mandated to promote and protect human rights for all; leads global human rights efforts speaks out objectively in the face of human rights violations worldwide. more...
  • Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict: promote and protect the rights of all children affected by armed conflict more...
  • The Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI): a coordinating group of experts from different disciplines and regions was set up to guide the work.  more...
  • UN Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW): advocates the improvement of the status of women of the world, and the achievement of their equality with men –as equal actors, partners, and beneficiaries of sustainable development, human rights, peace and security. more...
  • UN Population Fund (UNFPA): an international development agency that promotes the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity. more...
  • UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR): leads and co-ordinates international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. more...
  • UN International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW): the leading United Nations Institute devoted to research, training and knowledge management in partnership with governments, the United Nations System, civil society and academia to achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment. more...
  • UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture (VTFT): administered by the United Nations Secretary-General with a Board of Trustees acting in an advisory capacity and comprising five members with wide experience in the field of human rights. more...
  • World Health Organization (WHO): collaborates to decrease violence against women through initiatives that help to identify, quantify and respond to the problem. more...

UNIFEM Action & Analysis

UNIFEM is committed to eliminating violence against women and girls by investing in prevention, protection, and advocacy strategies.  Examples of UNIFEM’s work in this area include:

Tools & Checklists

UN Documents

 

Independent Experts' Assessment & Recommendations

The Independent Experts' Assessment on Women, War, Peace and Violence Against Women and the accompanying recommendations can be accessed in this archive: Violence Archive