June 19: International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict

Sexual violence in conflict,according to the United Nations (UN), refers to rape, sexual slavery, forced prostitution, forced pregnancy, forced abortion, enforced sterilization, forced marriage, and trafficking for sexual exploitation perpetrated against women and girls, or men and boys directly or indirectly linked to a conflict. To raise awareness, honour victims and survivors and pay tribute to those devoted to eradicating conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), the UN General Assembly in 2015, proclaimed June 19 as an International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict. This day is also a reminder to perpetrators that gender-based violence, whatever its form, is intolerable.

Up until the late twentieth century, CRSV was treated as unfortunate collateral damage. Since victims hardly reported it, survivors were ignored by their communities and perpetrators went unpunished. Although the international framework of sexual violencestrongly condemns CRSV as a crime against humanity and war crime, it continues with impunity in many war-torn countries because enforcement mechanisms are fragile and do not exist everywhere. However, beginning with the June 2014 London Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, it became clear that CRSV could be stopped under international humanitarian law if the prohibition against sexual abuse is duly enforced, and perpetrators punished. Hence, the 1,700 government representatives who attended the summit resolved to hold the perpetrators accountable, provide support for survivors, handle sexual violence in conflict as a security issue, and cooperate at an international level.

CRSV is not only the concern of the UN and the international community. Many non-governmental organizations and religious groups including the Marist Institute are fully involved in human rights advocacy. Elimination of violence, whatever its form, has been a key topic for the Marist Institute since its foundation. Champagnat was so terrified on seeing his teacher’s use of corporal punishment that he refused to go back to school the following day, despite his parents’ insistence. Until the end of his life, Champagnat insisted on his educational principle of love all children equally, inculcated in the Marist educators the importance of eradicating physical, sexual or psychological abuse in schools and forbade violence in their education of children.

While efforts to end CRSV continue, the reflection regarding its root causes is not forgotten. Many people blame patriarchal-socio-cultural societal structures and the circumstances of war as the root cause of CRSV. Without refuting this and based on her social teaching of inherent dignity of each person, the Catholic Church blames humans’ failure to treat their own kind as people worthy of respect and love. Hence, she condemns CRSV as a dreadful violent human act which degrades both the victims and perpetrators.

Given the persistence of CRSV in every region of the world, the Church urges that resolving crises through peaceful means would help prevent it. A sense of discipline among armed forces and awareness campaigns respectful of women would also help. While encouraging the adoption and implementation of plans and legislation to hold perpetrators accountable, the Church also encourages that assistance be given to the victims and survivors.  Women who are pregnant because of rape should be offered care, support, education, and assistance to meet their material, social and spiritual needs before and after the pregnancy. Furthermore, the Church commends the international community’s efforts to increase women’s roles in making decisions about conflict prevention and resolution as well as during post-war reconciliation and reconstruction.

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Brother Francis Lukong – Secretariat of Solidarity
19/06/2023