Sexual harassment and gender-based hate speech

Every new wave of conflict brings with it a rising tide of human tragedy, including new waves of war’s oldest, most silenced, and least condemned crime - sexual violence. Conflict-related sexual violence, whether against women, girls, men, or boys in all their diversity, continues to be used as a tactic of war, torture, and terrorism amid deepening political and security crises, compounded by militarization and the illicit proliferation of arms.

New crises have multiplied as entrenched conflicts have deepened, resulting in shrinking civic space and rising reprisals against human rights defenders, activists, and journalists.

Sexual harassment and gender-based hate speech have surged in the digital space. While the use of information and communications technology has contributed to the empowerment of women and girls and other groups in vulnerable situations, its use has also enabled the propagation of violence.

In some settings, disturbing trends of gender-based hate speech and incitement to violence fuelled conflict in which rape and other forms of sexual violence are used to humiliate and destabilize targeted communities. Hate speech – including online – has become one of the most common ways of spreading divisive rhetoric on a global scale.

We must confront bigotry by working to tackle the hate that spreads like wildfire across the internet.”

António Guterres

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) — a tool for empowerment... and destruction

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) may be used directly as a tool for making digital threats and inciting gender-based violence, including threats of physical and/or sexual violence, rape, killing, unwanted and harassing online communications, or even the encouragement of others to harm women physically.

On the other hand, ICT can be a powerful tool to improve gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, contribute to building their resilience in times of crises, increase the prevention of sexual and gender-based violence, as well as help survivors fight against impunity and improve accountability.

A lack of access for women and girls to affordable, accessible, and reliable technologies remains a critical challenge in many countries. All efforts should be deployed to reduce the price and enhance the affordability of information and communications technologies and broadband access and use. More needs to be done in bridging the gender digital divide and ensuring technology is safe and accessible to all.

We must guarantee safe and equitable access to inclusive and quality education, including digital literacy for all.

International cooperation must be enhanced to counter increasing sexual and gender-based violence, harassment and hate speech occurring both offline and online, as these pose a real threat to democracy by weakening women and girls’ participation in society.

Background

Definition and prevalence

The term “conflict-related sexual violence” refers to rape, sexual slavery, forced prostitution, forced pregnancy, forced abortion, enforced sterilization, forced marriage and any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity perpetrated against women, men, girls or boys that is directly or indirectly linked to a conflict. The term also encompasses trafficking in persons when committed in situations of conflict for the purpose of sexual violence or exploitation.

A consistent concern is that fear and cultural stigma converge to prevent the vast majority of survivors of conflict-related sexual violence from coming forward to report such violence. Practitioners in the field estimate that for each rape reported in connection with a conflict, 10 to 20 cases go undocumented.

UN Resolutions

On 19 June 2015, the United Nations General Assembly (A/RES/69/293) proclaimed 19 June of each year the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, in order to raise awareness of the need to put an end to conflict-related sexual violence, to honour the victims and survivors of sexual violence around the world and to pay tribute to all those who have courageously devoted their lives to and lost their lives in standing up for the eradication of these crimes.

The date was chosen to commemorate the adoption on 19 June 2008 of Security Council resolution 1820 (2008), in which the Council condemned sexual violence as a tactic of war and an impediment to peacebuilding.

In response to the rise in violent extremism, the Security Council adopted resolution S/RES/2331 (2016), the first to address the nexus between trafficking, sexual violence, terrorism and transnational organized crime. Acknowledging sexual violence as a tactic of terrorism, it further affirmed that victims of trafficking and sexual violence committed by terrorist groups should be eligible for official redress as victims of terrorism.

• General Assembly resolution establishing the International Day (A/RES/69/293)

Reports of the Secretary-General on conflict-related sexual violence

• 2022: S/2022/272
  • 2022 report: illustrated version
• 2021: S/2021/312
  • 2021 report: illustrated version
• 2020: S/2020/487
  • 2020 report: illustrated version
• 2019: S/2019/280
  • 2019 report: illustrated version
• 2018: S/2018/250
  • 2018 report: illustrated version
• 2017: S/2017/249
  • 2017 report: illustrated version
• 2016: S/2016/361
  • 2016 report: illustrated version

Other reports

• Conflict Related Sexual Violence MPTF Annual Progress Report 2021
• Team of Experts Report 2021
• UN Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict (UN Action):
  • 14 agencies committed to ending sexual violence in conflict (2020)
  • 2018 Progress Report
  • 2017 Progress Report
• More reports

Publications

• Closing the protection gap for children born of war

• Say #NoToHate
• Stop Rape Now: UN Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict
• Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict
• UN Team of Experts on the Rule of Law and Sexual Violence in Conflict
• Rape: Weapon of war

"If you look at the history of war, and the conflicts around the world, and time immemorial, sexual violence has been used in every war as a tactic of war" - Pramila Patten (Secretary-General's Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict)

Listen to the interview in Awake at Night S3-Episode 26: It Breaks Your Heart to Hear About the Brutality

 

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