UN Reports Rise in Wartime Sexual Violence, Calls for Action

The United Nations reported a significant increase of 50% in verified cases of rape and other sexual violence committed in the war in 2023, with a total of 3,688 cases.

Out of the total cases, 95% involved women and girls, and 32% targeted children, with the vast majority being girls. The report also documented incidents of sexual violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex persons. Despite the severity and brutality of these incidents, the report emphasizes that it does not reflect the global scale or prevalence of this underreported crime.

The report lists 58 parties credibly suspected of committing or being responsible for sexual violence, with over 70% being "persistent perpetrators" appearing on the list for five or more years. There has been an unprecedented level of lethal violence to silence survivors of sexual assault, with reports of rapists killing their victims in the DRC and Myanmar. Armed actors have also threatened healthcare workers in Sudan, and human rights defenders in South Sudan, DRC, and elsewhere have faced reprisals.

Pramila Patten, the Secretary-General's Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, has called for the need to address sexual violence by focusing on power dynamics, including greater women's participation, weapons regulation, and embargoes, financial support for human rights defenders, and implementing change at the grassroots level.