13-11-2013 –
Silence is tragically prevalent in many modern conflicts. The ICRC is committed
to further increasing its efforts in the prevention of this devastating
violation and to provide assistance to the victims. This article examines the
nature of sexual violence, the needs of the victims, the ICRC’s work in terms
of prevention, protection and assistance as well as the legal basis for the
prohibition of sexual violence.
Responding
to the needs of victims of sexual violence
- What
is sexual violence? - Who
is affected and how? - What
are the needs of victims of sexual violence? - What
barriers can victims face in obtaining access to health care? - What
about non-medical needs? - How
does the ICRC address the needs of victims of sexual violence in its
programmes and activities? - What
does international humanitarian law say regarding sexual violence in armed
conflict? - Is
sexual violence a war crime? - What
about those who might be responsible for sexual violence? - How
does the International Movement of the Red Cross and Red Crescent work
together on this issue?
Throughout
history, sexual violence has been widespread in armed conflict, and often
viewed as an unavoidable consequence of warfare. Sexual violence persists as a
devastating phenomenon with damaging consequences for victims – women, men,
boys and girls – as well as their families and whole communities. Additionally,
such violations remain vastly under-reported, and underestimated in terms of
prevalence and consequences. The humanitarian response to the diverse needs of
victims remains insufficient.
Despite
these challenges, the ICRC firmly believes that sexual violence in armed
conflicts can be stopped. Through a comprehensive response including
assistance, protection and prevention it seeks to ensure that the needs of
victims are met, and that activities to prevent these crimes are undertaken.
The ICRC has committed to improving its response over the next four years, by
enhancing and expanding its programmes and strengthening its capacity to
address this complex and sensitive phenomenon.
1.
What is sexual violence?
The term
“sexual violence” is used to describe acts of a sexual nature imposed
by force, or coercion, such as that caused by fear of violence, duress, detention,
psychological oppression or abuse of power directed against any victim – man,
woman, boy or girl. Taking advantage of a coercive environment or of the
victim’s incapacity to give genuine consent is also a form of coercion. Sexual
violence encompasses: rape, sexual slavery, forced prostitution, forced
pregnancy, forced sterilization, or any other form of sexual violence of a
comparable gravity.
Such acts
rarely occur in isolation. They form part of a pattern of abuse and violence,
which includes killing, child recruitment, destruction of property and looting.
Sexual violence can be used as a form of reprisal, to create fear, or as a form
of torture. It may also be used systematically, as a method of warfare, aimed
at destroying the social fabric.
2. Who
is affected and how?
Armed
conflict and other situations of violence affect women, men, girls and boys
differently. Certain people may be more vulnerable to sexual violence than others.
This includes those who are internally displaced, migrants, widows, female
heads of households, detainees, those associated with armed forces or armed
groups, or those belonging to a specific ethnic group. Sexual violence is also
perpetrated against men and boys, and in some contexts detention may render
them particularly vulnerable.
Sexual
violence can result in severe physical and psychological trauma, HIV infection
and, occasionally, in death. In addition, victims often face double
victimization: not only sustaining potentially dangerous and long-lasting
injuries and trauma, but also facing stigmatization and rejection by their
families and communities.
Despite the
pervasiveness of sexual violence in many armed conflicts, it frequently remains
invisible. Feelings of guilt and shame, fear of retaliation, or taboos
surrounding the subject may prevent victims from coming forward. As a result,
the full extent of the problem is often concealed. For these reasons, it can be
very difficult to reach and provide support to victims.
3. What
are the needs of victims of sexual violence?
Above all,
victims of sexual violence must be treated with humanity, fully respecting
their privacy, and maintaining the strictest confidentiality when responding to
their needs. Assuring the security of victims and preventing further attacks
are also of the utmost importance. Fear of reprisals and attack may
prevent victims from coming forward, or place those who do in precarious
security situations, making them more vulnerable to attack.
Sexual
violence is a medical emergency, potentially resulting in severe physical and
psychological health consequences for victims. It is crucial that they have
unimpeded access to quality and timely medical care within 72 hours to reduce
the risk of sexually transmitted diseases and infections and HIV and to obtain
access to emergency contraception in accordance with domestic law.
When rape
results in unwanted pregnancy, victims may seek out unsafe practices to
terminate their pregnancy, potentially placing their health and lives at risk.
Unsafe abortion is a significant public health concern. Children born of rape,
and their mothers, are also highly vulnerable, and can face a heightened risk
of exclusion from the community. These children may even be at risk of
infanticide or other forms of violence.
4. What
barriers can victims face in obtaining access to health care?
Victims’
access to comprehensive health care, including psychosocial support, is
essential in the acute phase and over the long term. Yet, in situations of
armed conflict, obtaining access to medical care is often a significant
challenge. In many cases, victims are unaware of the need to seek urgent
medical care or are not able to obtain access to it because of fear, insecurity,
or a lack of suitable medical facilities. Medical infrastructure can be
limited, or may be damaged or destroyed as a result of the conflict, thereby
denying victims access to treatment.
Victims
often face great risks to their safety as they attempt to reach health care
services. They may also have to travel long distances in an insecure
environment to seek help, possibly to find that health structures and services
are no longer available because of the conflict. Due to the complex nature of
armed conflict, humanitarian actors may face challenges in reaching victims in
order to provide the necessary care and support.
5. What
about non-medical needs?
In addition
to health care, there are a range of other elements that must be integrated in
the humanitarian response. It is important to ensure that victims of sexual
violence are protected from further violations through risk awareness and risk
reduction activities.
Victims who
wish to seek justice need be to be fully informed about the support available
and protected against reprisals, exclusion or security risks. It is crucial to
ensure that victims are not put at risk by pursuing legal processes.
In many
circumstances, victims may face significant challenges in reintegrating the
community. Education is important to avoid stigmatisation, rejection and
exclusion of victims and their children. Partners, children and other
family members also need support, guidance and care.
Those who have been displaced or who have lost their means of subsistence as a
result of sexual violence frequently require shelter and economic support to
rebuild their lives.
6. How
does the ICRC address the needs of victims of sexual violence in its programmes
and activities?
As a
humanitarian organization, the ICRC strives to address both the causes and the
effects of sexual violence in responding to the needs of the men, women, girls
and boys affected. Its activities encompass the provision of health care,
protection, assistance, awareness-raising, and prevention.
Depending on
the context, the ICRC may provide health care directly or it may refer victims
to existing medical services for appropriate care such as the prevention of
illness, the treatment of injuries and diseases as well as ensuring
reproductive health services in accordance with national legislation. The ICRC
often supports national medical structures, transportation and personnel in
terms of capacity building, infrastructure and medical supplies. In addition,
the ICRC strives to integrate both medical and psychological support in its
health activities for victims of sexual violence. The ICRC has several programs
which provide care and support and address their psychological and social
needs.
The ICRC provides economic support to victims to assist them in rebuilding
their lives. This can include food and household items, shelter, assistance in
developing new sources of income or transportation costs to help them access
medical and psychological care.
In
consultation with local communities, the ICRC works to raise awareness, identify
risk factors and develop protection strategies against sexual violence. For
example, the ICRC can provide women with fuel-efficient stoves to minimize the
time they spend venturing out to collect firewood, an activity that puts them
at risk of sexual violence. Similarly, it has assisted communities in drilling
boreholes closer to villages to reduce the risk women face while fetching
water.
7. What
does international humanitarian law say regarding sexual violence in armed
conflict?
Rape and
other forms of sexual violence, when committed in the context of an armed
conflict either international or non-international, constitute violations under
international humanitarian law (IHL).All parties to an armed conflict must
abide by the prohibition of sexual violence. All states have an obligation to
prosecute the perpetrators.
Rape and
other forms of sexual violence are prohibited under treaty law (the Fourth Geneva convention, as well as Additional Protocol I and Additional Protocol II) and customary
law applicable in both international and non-international armed
conflict
8. Is
sexual violence a war crime?
The Statute
of the International Criminal Court includes rape and some other forms of
sexual violence in the list of war crimes and in the list of acts that
constitute crimes against humanity when committed as part of a widespread or
systematic attack directed against any civilian population.
- Elements of Crimes, Statute of the
International Criminal Court - Statement
of the trial chamber at the judgement hearing, International Criminal
Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia - Jugement, the prosecuteur versus J-P Akayesu,
Tribunal pénal international pour le Rwanda
Rape and
other forms of sexual violence may also constitute other international crimes.
Rape would typically constitute torture, for instance, when it is intentionally
inflicted by a State official in order to obtain confessions from the victim.
Sexual violence
can also constitute an act of genocide, for instance when it is an imposed
measure intended to prevent births within the group, through for instance
sexual mutilation or sterilization. Rape can also be a measure intended to
prevent births: in patriarchal societies, for example, when a woman is
deliberately impregnated by a man of another ethnic group, with the intent to
have her give birth to a child who will consequently not belong to his/her
mother’s group.
Every single
rape committed during and in connection with an armed conflict constitutes a
war crime and must be prosecuted. Furthermore sexual violence is at all
times a violation of international human rights instruments and of many bodies
of national and religious or traditional law.
9. What
about those who might be responsible for sexual violence?
The ICRC
urges all parties in armed conflict to meet their obligation under
international humanitarian law to protect women, men, girls and boys against
acts of sexual violence and to ensure unimpeded access to health care for all
victims of sexual violence.
The ICRC
reminds parties to armed conflict that all forms of sexual violence are
prohibited under international humanitarian law, and urges them to integrate
this prohibition into domestic legislation, military codes and in the training
manuals of weapon bearers. It delivers information sessions to weapons bearers
throughout the world on the prohibition of sexual violence and adapts these
sessions to the patterns of violations that it has witnessed in different
contexts.
Rape and
other forms of sexual violence that amount to serious violations of
international humanitarian law entail individual criminal responsibility and
must be prosecuted. All States are obliged to criminalize these violations
under domestic law, and to effectively investigate and prosecute any instance
of sexual violence.
Additionally,
in confidential dialogue with authorities or armed groups, the ICRC raises
concerns about observed or alleged facts relating to the perpetration of sexual
violence. This includes the consequences of such acts for victims and
communities, their legal and criminal consequences and possible measures to
identify and sanction perpetrators, to protect the population and to decrease
the risk of such crimes.
10. How
does the International Movement of the Red Cross and Red Crescent work together
on this issue?
Wherever
possible, the ICRC works in cooperation with local service providers, and
partners within the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, such as
National Societies.
- Vulnerabilities in armed conflicts and sexual violence,
ICRC statement - Promoting a culture of nonviolence and peace,
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies - 4-year action plan for the implementation of international
humanitarian law, 31st International Conference of the
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
As with a
number of other issues, the different components of the Red Cross / Red
Crescent Movement assume distinct yet complementary roles in relation to the
issues of sexual and gender based violence. In accordance with its mandate, the
ICRC addresses a specific and sensitive aspect of these issues by focusing on
sexual violence in armed conflict or other situations of violence. The
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and
individual National Societies, may take a broader approach to gender based
violence, and also engage in violence prevention in the context of natural
disasters.
The Red
Cross and Red Crescent Movement, together with States, adopted a 4-Year Action
Plan for the Implementation of International Humanitarian Law at the 31st
International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (2011), in which
they committed themselves to work towards the prevention, documentation and
prosecution of serious violations of IHL involving sexual violence.