Sexual Violence as a weapon of war

Human Trafficking banner with 9 images of issues linked to it

Sitemap Human Trafficking Signs of Trafficking Theological reflections About Us Contact us Home

VIOLENCE:
Sexual Violence

Black and white photo of a woman being held down

Three people holding banner, taking action to protest

Neuron picture expressing interconnectedness of subjects relating to human trafficking

Weapon of War

During armed conflicts all civilians are at risk from violence - but sexual violence in particular is often used against women as a weapon of war.

Rape and other forms of sexual violence are used in armed conflicts to dehumanise women, as a form of torture to extract information and to control women and their communities.

Whether asylum-seekers, refugees or internally displaced, for many women the violence doesn’t stop when the armed conflict ends.

Many displaced women, refugee women and girls experience violence by smugglers or traffickers, border guards, police and other law enforcement officers and sometimes even by other refugees.

Women are often targeted for gang rape, abduction and sexual slavery by all sides in the conflict.

Sexual harassment and violence at the hands of peacekeepers and aid workers is not uncommon

During the conflict between 1991 and 2002, it is estimated by Amnesty International that a third of all women and girls in Sierra Leone were subjected to sexual violence.

An Open Horizon Task Group project supported and funded by Formation in World Mission and Women's Network of the British Methodist Church
© Open Horizon (Contact us for details)