TW for rape, victim blamingStatement by the Special Representative of the Secretary General Zainab H
TW for rape, victim blamingStatement by the Special Representative of the Secretary General Zainab Hawa Bangura on Sexual Violence in Conflict“Three weeks ago I visited Somalia.In Mogadishu, I met Luul Ali Osman who, 3 months ago, faced the terrible weight of censure, arrest and imprisonment for daring to speak out about her rape by security forces in an internally displaced persons camp.Her case reminds us of the tremendous risks associated with reporting sexual violence, not only for the survivors themselves, but for their families, NGO staff who provide vital services and the journalists who try to shed light on such crimes.For too long has war been waged on the bodies of women like Luul. For too long have women borne the crippling consequences – physical, psychological, social, economic – of wartime rape. They have been ostracized from their communities, cast out by husbands and families, left destitute with their children.With sexual violence women lose everything; and in the process communities themselves are lost. Because women are the life force of their communities. They are mothers and care-givers to the next generation; they are the healers, the economic backbone, the peacemakers and the peacekeepers.This is why today we lift our voices in unison, and once again join hands around this high table to renew our pact to break the silence and turn the tide on war’s oldest and least condemned crime.In so doing, we stand in solidarity with the many thousands of victims and survivors around the world – not only women, but also children and men. To say to them that they are not forgotten, that their plight is of the highest priority, at the highest level of the international system.”Read the full speech here -- source link
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