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Begin New Search Topic Sexual Violence Publication Year within 25 Years

31. An Overview of Child Sexual Abuse Research Conducted in Low and Middle Income Countries Between 2011–2021

Author:
Nicole Gonzalez, Anik Gevers, and Elizabeth Dartnall
Publication Date:
05-2022
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI)
Abstract:
To strengthen our understanding of what kinds of child sexual abuse research is coming from low and middle income countries we conducted a brief scoping review of studies published over the past 10 years. One hundred and ninety four studies were included in this review based on a search of the MEDLINE (PubMed) database. The majority of articles were epidemiological studies (n=146) and the remaining articles included intervention studies, methodology and ethics work, and theory and frameworks articles. Most publications were based on research conducted in the SubSaharan Africa region (n=98) and the fewest publications were from the East Asia and Pacific region. The review revealed that there is no cohesive body of evidence and that there seems little connection between, for example, epidemiological research and intervention research. Further, very little of the epidemiological research focused on identifying the risk and protective factors for child sexual abuse including the drivers of perpetration and more analysis of the norms, systems, and social structures that impact and influence child sexual abuse. The review found several methodological gaps in the evidence base as studies utilized different definitions of child sexual abuse, a variety of measurements for child sexual abuse, and at times grounding in ethics was not clear. Few studies were intersectional (n=25). More priority-driven child sexual abuse research is needed from low and middle income countries with clear links to policy and practice. A clear, shared research agenda is needed to guide the field toward building a cohesive evidence base as well as capacity strengthening to address methodological and ethics issues of this research. This research should be intersectional in order to build a nuanced understanding of child sexual abuse across diverse and particularly marginalised or vulnerabilised groups. There is evidence on the mental health impact of child sexual abuse but few studies evaluated interventions that addressed these outcomes among survivors. Research that will improve our understanding of the drivers, risk factors, and protective factors for different forms of child sexual abuse – including perpetration of this violence – is needed to inform prevention intervention strategies.
Topic:
Ethics, Research, Sexual Violence, Methodology, and Child Sexual Abuse (CSA)
Political Geography:
Global Focus

32. African Truth Commissions and Survivors of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence

Author:
Rachel Morley
Publication Date:
06-2021
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Abstract:
Within the international development and human rights communities, awareness of the use of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) as a tool of war has grown significantly over the past two decades. Truth commission have emerged as a key response to support victims of CRSV and provide recommendations on how the state should provide assistance and avoid future violations. This report draws on an analysis of the final reports of truth commissions in four African countries—Sierra Leone (2004), Liberia (2009), Kenya (2015), and Tunisia (2019)—to explore the evolving nature of truth commission engagement with this specific mandate on the continent.
Topic:
Conflict, Sexual Violence, Peace, Reconciliation, and Truth
Political Geography:
Kenya, Africa, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Tunisia

33. Engaging men and boys to prevent violence against women

Author:
Sexual Violence Research Initiative
Publication Date:
01-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI)
Abstract:
While women must remain at the centre of and lead efforts to prevent the violence against them, men must join the movement as allies, and gender transformative interventions that engage men in thoughtful ways can be highly effective. The process of engaging men and boys in the prevention of violence against women has gained momentum over the past 20 years, with growing evidence that well-designed and holistic interventions involving both men and women can work. Interventions focusing solely on men are ineffective in shifting strongly entrenched social norms that drive violence against women, and we must support structural policy changes.1 Between 2016 and 2020, the Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI), in partnership with the World Bank Group, funded several studies into interventions that engage men in Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and North African region. These studies address local gender norms and context-specific risk factors associated with men abusing women. The SVRI will continue supporting research that builds evidence for accountable, effective and sustainable programmes that engage men in preventing and responding to violence against women in low- and middle-income countries.
Topic:
Gender Based Violence, Youth, Violence, Sexual Violence, and Engagement
Political Geography:
North America

34. An evidence review of violence prevention in South Africa

Author:
Matodzi Amisi and Sara N Naicker
Publication Date:
01-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI)
Abstract:
This policy brief presents findings from an evidence review of violence prevention interventions implemented in South Africa. The review draws on an evidence map published in 2019,1 and additional papers since then. It includes evidence generated through qualitative and quantitative methodologies. The review summarises the available evidence, with an assessment of quality, and perhaps most importantly it highlights the contextual factors that impact success. The review was guided by the question: ‘How and in what context do interventions impact perpetration and victimisation; and how can violence prevention interventions be implemented at scale?’ The approach taken to answer this question is similar to a narrative review. The objective was not to aggregate results from the studies but to summarise the evidence. Narrative review typically involves the selection, chronicling and ordering of evidence to produce an account of the evidence. This allowed us to include both qualitative and quantitative studies, a range of interventions, and to be interpretive. The review was carried out in four phases (Chart 1). Each paper or report was read in full and data extracted. In addition, an assessment of the quality of evidence presented in each paper or report was undertaken. A standardised tool rated each study on its conceptualisation, research question, sample size, context, control of confounding variable, etc.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, Gender Based Violence, Violence, Sexual Violence, and Victims
Political Geography:
Africa

35. Non-Consensual Intimate Image Distribution: The Legal Landscape in Kenya, Chile and South Africa

Author:
Michelle Bordachar, Nonhlanhla Chanza, Kailee Hilt, Carlos Lara, Emma Monteiro, and Grace Mutung'u
Publication Date:
06-2021
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)
Abstract:
The non-consensual distribution of intimate images, colloquially referred to as “revenge pornography” or “image-based sexual abuse,” is an unforgiving reality that continues to plague the lives of many within the current digital landscape. It alludes to the non-consensual distribution of photos or videos depicting nudity, partial nudity or sexually explicit acts. This paper provides an overview of the state of the law, both existing and proposed, in three countries in the Global South — Kenya, Chile and South Africa — as it relates to the non-consensual distribution of intimate images. It was prepared under the overall coordination of CIGI’s Kailee Hilt and Emma Monteiro, who also wrote the introduction and conclusion. The three case studies were written by leading experts from Kenya, Chile and South Africa. The authors discuss current and proposed legislation in response to non-consensual intimate image distribution, while also sharing recommendations for further action to address this growing form of gender-based violence within the digital sphere. On June 24, 2021, CIGI held a panel discussion on this topic moderated by Ruhiya Seward, senior program officer at the International Development Research Centre. Grace Mutung’u, Michelle Bordachar and Nonhlanhla Chanza, experts who contributed the case studies in the paper, spoke about this issue as it pertains to Kenya, Chile and South Africa, respectively, and offered recommendations and road maps for further action within the existing landscape.
Topic:
Rule of Law, Sexual Violence, Judiciary, Digital Culture, and Digitization
Political Geography:
Kenya, Africa, South Africa, South America, and Chile

36. #MeToo and US Politics: Analyzing the Twitter Conversation

Author:
Vittoria Bernardini
Publication Date:
09-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
Institution:
Institute for Research and European Studies (IRES)
Abstract:
The #MeToo movement has had a profound cultural impact on US society, and notably on US party politics. While many studies have addressed the #MeToo-related controversy arising from the Brett Kavanaugh nomination to Supreme Court Justice in 2018, the relationship between #MeToo and US politics before this event has remained understudied. This article, therefore, addresses this gap by looking at the role of politics at the beginning of the #MeToo movement. Focusing on the first six months of online activity on Twitter (October 2017 – April 2018), over 2 million tweets with the #MeToo hashtag are analyzed to identify the main activity patterns across the dataset and to gain insight on user behavior and participation in the conversation. Results point to the weaponization of #MeToo in the political context from its inception. It is suggested that #MeToo reflects the polarized political climate in the US and that it can be conceptualized as part of the wider “culture wars” (Hunter 1991) that characterize the public debate.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Mass Media, Social Movement, Social Media, Sexual Violence, and Participation
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

37. Addressing Conflict-Related Sexual Violence Through Multilateral Sanctions

Author:
Robert U. Nagel, Julia Maenza, Daniel Salazar, Aminah Mohamad Yusuf, and Diamond Jones
Publication Date:
12-2021
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS)
Abstract:
With the next open debate in the United Nations (UN) Security Council on sexual violence in armed conflict scheduled for April, it is timely to examine what the UN and individual Member States can and should do to more effectively address conflict-related sexual violence, reduce impunity, and improve accountability. The Security Council showed encouraging signs of success adopting six Women, Peace and Security (WPS) resolutions since 2010, despite the Council’s increased divisions over that period. As recently as 2019, the Council adopted Resolution 2467, which recognizes the importance of national governments’ ownership and responsibility in addressing sexual violence and its root causes.2 Nevertheless, the Council displays a troubling lack of action concerning reports of systematic conflict-related sexual violence. One of its worst failures is its disregard of the Tatmadaw’s pattern of brutality and violence in Myanmar, both before and after the military’s coup d’état on February 1, 2021. The Tatmadaw is responsible for the vast majority of sexual violence in Myanmar including 82 percent of all gang rapes in the country.3 Their use of sexual violence likely amounts to war crimes and crimes against humanity.4 Protection from sexual violence in armed conflict has been one of the most prominent aspects of the Women, Peace and Security agenda,5 but the Security Council’s silence about Myanmar demonstrates that the WPS consensus exists only in theory. With no indication of abating internal tensions in the Security Council, individual Member States must find other ways of working together to live up to their commitments to human rights, the WPS agenda, and the Responsibility to Protect.
Topic:
Sanctions, Conflict, Multilateralism, and Sexual Violence
Political Geography:
Southeast Asia and Myanmar

38. The Gender-Based Violence as an Instrument of Warfare in Armed Conflicts

Author:
Collins G. Adeyanju
Publication Date:
11-2020
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
Institution:
Institute for Research and European Studies (IRES)
Abstract:
The gender-based violence in recent times has become an integral part of the on-going Boko Haram Insurgency in North-East Nigeria. Since the full-scale declaration of combat between the Nigerian state and the insurgent group, the asymmetrical tactics of the group have been evolving, based on its capabilities. The recent spike in the targeted raid and attack on female schools, markets, and female institutions purposely for abduction and kidnapping of women and girls indicated this assertion. Due to the depletion of its fighters and loss of territories, there is a surge in mass deployment of ‘women and young girls’ as material instruments of warfare: fighters, suicide bombers, human shields, bargaining tools, sex slaves, informants, and so on. This article appraises the gender push-pull factors responsible, motivation behind the current behavior, and proffers some policy guidance.
Topic:
Women, Gender Based Violence, Sexual Violence, Boko Haram, Abductions, Armed Conflict, and Suicide Bombing
Political Geography:
Africa and Nigeria

39. Conflict-Related Sexual Assault— Historic Barriers to International Recognition

Author:
Nicole Mattea
Publication Date:
06-2020
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Chicago Council on Global Affairs
Abstract:
Conflict-Related Sexual Assault— Historic Barriers to International Recognition JUNE 26, 2020 By: Nicole Mattea, Women, Peace, and Security Intern, Chicago Council on Global Affairs In April of 2019, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2493 within the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda. This resolution recognizes sexual violence occurring on a continuum of violence against women and girls, recognizes national responsibility on addressing sexual violence, and recognizes the need for survivor-based and survivor-centered approaches to preventative and provisionary responses. Despite this resolution and several others adopted within the last several years, it was only a little over a decade ago in 2008 that the United Nations (UN) first recognized the role of sexual violence as a war tactic and began implementing strategies to address and respond to such violence on a global scale. This delay and lack of international attention is due to a series of long-held beliefs about rape, sexual violence, and consent, as well an acceptance of conflict-related sexual violence as inevitable to conflict. To explain the recent emergence of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) into international discourse and preventative strategies, I will define CRSV, explain the history of CRSV in international law and international human rights, and examine the belief systems surrounding CRSV that, until recent years, restricted prosecution and peacekeeping efforts.
Topic:
United Nations, Women, Conflict, Sexual Violence, and International Humanitarian Law (IHL)
Political Geography:
Global Focus

40. Preventing Sexual Exploitation and Abuse by Male Peacekeepers

Author:
Jessica Anania, Angelina Mendes, and Robert U. Nagel
Publication Date:
09-2020
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
Sexual exploitation and abuse by United Nations peacekeeping forces first came to international attention more than a quarter century ago. Despite numerous U.N. policy responses, the problem persists, harming individuals, jeopardizing missions, and undermining the credibility and legitimacy of U.N. peacekeeping operations. This report addresses the question of why more progress has not been made in preventing these violations and draws attention to ways in which prevention efforts can be strengthened and made more effective.
Topic:
Gender Issues, United Nations, Peacekeeping, Sexual Violence, and Abuse
Political Geography:
Global Focus