sexual and gender based violence.
By: Dennis Wendo
Worth Noting:
- Dame Barbara Woodward, Britain’s ambassador to the UN, said there was evidence “Russia is committing four of the Security Council’s six grave violations against children in times of war”.
- Violations listed in a 1999 council resolution include the targeting of children in conflict as well as recruiting and using children as soldiers. The war in Ukraine is worsening the child –rights- crisis. Hundreds of schools have been attacked and many innocent children killed. Over 1 million cases of forced deportations from Ukraine to Russia have been reported, the majority of the victims being youthful mothers and children.
Wars are naturally gendered from time immemorial. War’s traditional structure is that men go to fight, while women stay at home and take care of the family.
What’s more, the battlefield itself is gendered, whilst men are killed, women’s bodies are the spoils of war. History has repeatedly shown that the outbreak of conflict and war increases the exposure of women and girls to war crimes, especially all forms of gender-based violence, arbitrary killings, rape and trafficking.
Sexual violence knows no boundaries and continues to occur in every country, across all segments of society. Millions of girls and boys around the world face sexual abuse and exploitation either at their homes, schools or in their communities. Oftenly, over 90 percent of the abuse occurs at the hands of someone a child knows and trusts very well.
The UNICEF report indicates that at least 120 million, with about 1 in 10 girls under the age of 20 have been forced to engage in sex or perform other sexual acts. Many victims of sexual violence, including millions of boys, shy off from sharing their miseries.
Sexual violence risks be it conflict-related, intimate partner or trafficking for sexual exploitation among children and women surge in times of war and natural disaster emergencies. The conflict in Ukraine which began on 24 February this year is no exception to the traditional gendered structure of war. It has triggered off widespread sexual violence against women and children by Russian troops and other violations of UN Security Council rules on young people in wartime.
Dame Barbara Woodward, Britain’s ambassador to the UN, said there was evidence “Russia is committing four of the Security Council’s six grave violations against children in times of war”.
Violations listed in a 1999 council resolution include the targeting of children in conflict as well as recruiting and using children as soldiers. The war in Ukraine is worsening the child –rights- crisis. Hundreds of schools have been attacked and many innocent children killed. Over 1 million cases of forced deportations from Ukraine to Russia have been reported, the majority of the victims being youthful mothers and children.
In Ukraine,women and children are paying an unconscionably high price. The impact of this war to the youthful generation is agonizing. We need an end to this , lest we risk losing a generation(s).
Notably, the school year for Ukraine’s children effectively came to a standstill after the war began. At least 15 of 89 UNICEF-supported schools in east Ukraine have either been damaged or destroyed in the fighting. The use of buildings and educational facilities as bases by the Ukraine’s military continues to jeopardize the lives of children, depriving them of their right to education.
Women have been raped in front of family members after the execution of their husbands, by the Russian soldiers. Whether rape survivors remain in Ukraine or flee the country, their access to appropriate healthcare is limited and health risks are significant for the rape victims.
They have high risk of sexually transmitted infections, HIV, unwanted pregnancy, internal physical injuries to their reproductive organs all of which require specialized medical assistance, which may not be available in the conflict or refugee context.
For the girls and women who have crossed borders, safety is not guaranteed. Women are first at high risk of rape and sexual exploitation in the transit process as they flee conflict. With millions of refugees seeking shelter and safety, the risk of being trafficked is high, as women look for help for themselves and their children. Traffickers offer transport, work or accommodation to try to lure women to leave with them.
Sexual exploitation also occurs in these situations, when women are forced to trade sex for shelter, transport and/or safety. The risk of rape is also high; rape in refugee populations is not uncommon, as safety and security is difficult to assure in such large, desperate populations. The risk also exists of sexual assault by aid workers, or those posing as aid workers.
Sexual violence reverbarates in severe physical, psychological and social harm. Consequently some victims resort to risky behaviours like substance abuse to cope with trauma. And as child victims reach adulthood, sexual violence is likely to reduce their ability to care for themselves and others.
The widespread use of digital technologies continues to put children at risk. Though sexual violence is fundamentally a crime of power, it is increasingly driven by economic motives.
The internet has opened a rapidly growing global market for the production, distribution and consumption of child sexual abuse materials, such as photographs and videos. When online, children may be susceptible to sexual coercion and in-contact sexual abuse by offenders who attempt to extort them for content and financial gain.
The harmful norms that perpetuate sexual violence have evidently taken a heavy toll on families and communities . Most children who face sexual abuse experience other kinds of violence. And as abuse and exploitation become entrenched, progress towards development and peace stalls, with consequences for entire societies.
It is imperative for the governments, social partners and stakeholders to double their efforts and play key roles in preventing and responding to sexual and gender based violence both in emergency and non-emergency contexts through programmes, partnerships and advocacy.
Let national and county governments develop and strengthen laws and policies aimed at curbing SGBV, increase access to justice, health, education and social services that help child and adolescent survivors recover. Let them invest in prevention programmes to change social norms that condone, war, sexual violence and perpetuate a culture of silence.
Ending the scourge of SGBV, is essential for all humanity and demands a coordinated international response.The world’s richest countries must take the lead because they have a special responsibility.
Dennis Wendo
Founder- Integrated Development Network
Email: dambehi@gmail.com
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