I can’t stop thinking about Marie. She was 30 years old when I met her in 2015. Two years earlier, six fighters armed with rifles and machetes burst into her home in the capital of the Central African Republic, Bangui. Two of the fighters held her husband at gunpoint while the others pushed her to the … Read more In the Central African Republic, War’s Most Forgotten Victims
The United Nations Security Council recognized that men and boys are targets of sexual violence both in wartime and in post-conflict settings. Resolution 2467, approved on April 23, calls upon UN member countries to strengthen policies to provide help for victims. As a human-rights lawyer, during the last nine months, I have been documenting cases of conflict-related sexual … Read more Men Can Experience Sexual Violence in War Too
A decision by the United Nations Security Council to add sanctions against perpetrators of sexual violence should have gone smoothly. The proposal, led by the Netherlands and Sweden, was meant to deter such violence in conflict zones and other hot spots. Weeks earlier, diplomats turned out in hordes to mark the 18th anniversary of a landmark … Read more UN Sanctions for Sexual Violence in Libya Approved, but Russia Resisted
Historically neglected, gender-based violence is now becoming broadly recognized as a legitimate and urgent agenda item among the United Nations member nations, notably in the UN’s most powerful forum, the Security Council. But the future of the agenda is uncertain, as priorities remain unclear and inadequate methods for preventing sexual violence against women keep us … Read more The UN’s Emphasis on Prevention Could Use Lessons From the Case of Guinea
Moving away from strictly categorizing rape and other sexual abuse against women as a weapon of war, a new report from the United Nations addresses the increasing use of rape as a weapon of terrorism. The report also documents how mass migration has led to further sexual violence against women through human trafficking by extremist … Read more Rape by Terrorists: A UN Report Documents Sexual Attacks in War
LONDON — The Center for Women, Peace and Security, based at the London School of Economics in Britain, is a year old. The first of its kind in Europe, the center aims to shed light on the prevalence of violence against women during conflict through academic research and forums. The concept of the center was … Read more In London, a New Academic Center Focuses on Sexual Violence in Conflict
A recent cease-fire seems to be holding in eastern Ukraine, promising relative relief in the region from the incessant, percussive beat of heavy artillery from Howitzers, tanks and rocket launchers with a backbeat provided by Kalashnikov AK-74s. Fighting in Ukraine’s civil war has kept people in the embattled zones on a razor’s edge since the … Read more In Eastern Ukraine, Questions Abound Regarding Violence Against Women
SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina — “Please don’t let the world forget us again.” The plea is heard everywhere by men as well as by women in the picturesque Balkan city of Sarajevo, the site of Europe’s most destructive and sadistic conflict in more than half a century. Sarajevo was briefly in the news again … Read more Helpless Bosnia and Its Women, 20 Years After Ethnic War
Gender is at the center of international agendas, not at their periphery. Today, plans in Sochi for the forthcoming Olympics — the emblem of international cooperation — are riven by disputes over Russia’s policies toward lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender persons. Peacemakers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo must address the needs of more than 2.5 million displaced … Read more Columbia University Adds New Gender Focus to Its International Affairs School
