There are no quick fixes to warzone rape, but Hague's summit was a vital first step
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Version 0 of 1. The article “warzone rape seen as ‘costly failure’”, published on the Global development site earlier this month, raises, perhaps unintentionally, some of the crucial issues that need to be discussed as part of a strategy to combat gender-based and sexual violence in armed conflict. What needs to be prioritised? How do we determine budget allocation? What are the appropriate responses and how should we measure results? These are big questions. The overriding issue, though, is why does sexual violence happen and what can be done to address it? The Prevention of Sexual Violence Initiative (PSVI) set some very clear objectives, with ending the impunity of perpetrators the foremost. This, however, was merely a starting point. Related: Revealed: how the world turned its back on rape victims of Congo The reality is that if men think of women as property – if violence at home, or committed by family members, is considered a private matter; if society continues to judge the conduct and dress of women in sexual violence cases; if the state fails to insist upon political, social, economic and cultural equality for women in all fields, and fails to engage with men in resolving the issue – then sexual violence will continue. The former British foreign secretary William Hague publicly asserts that the leading issue of these times is the empowerment of women. He speaks of the need to address the root causes of sexual violence and see sexual violence in conflict as a matter of international peace and security. And he is right. Rape destroys communities and the consequences are international, as peace remains unobtainable. PSVI is a component of a global agenda on women, peace and security that recognises the critical importance of women’s and girls’ empowerment and gender equality. It is wrong to look at short-term indicators. Results will take many, many years. Rape in the Democratic Republic of the Congo will not end before the conflict does, and even then it will continue unless attitudes towards women also change. Legal frameworks have to be reformed and applied, mindsets transformed, social and economic systems put in place. These things can only be achieved by national governments. Hence the need to bring them on board and keep them committed. Budget is also important. Funding has been provided, and must be spent wisely. Though £5m was spent on the summit hosted by Hague and Angelina Jolie, the investment – tiny in relative terms – got more than 100 states on board. This should be compared with the more than £250m pumped into the Nato conference in Wales in the autumn of 2014 to discuss military deployments. Stopping sexual violence is an obligation under international law, but still it happens. Governments have made commitments by ratifying human rights treaties and the statute of the international criminal court but, as we know only too well, they commit only to walk away, with South Africa’s decision to let the Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir leave the most recent, shameful example. It does not mean that we should stop bringing them together to remind them of what they have to do. It gives civil society more advocacy possibilities and with the protocol, launched at the summit, a practical tool to work with. There was a lesson from the summit for the present UK government too. There can be no serious engagement on sexual violence without respect for, and delivery of, human rights, including economic and social rights and equality. State legal systems must incorporate these fundamental obligations and they must be complied with. PSVI has the potential to make a serious difference; it has started to do so and now needs to be strengthened. The UK must be robust in demanding accountability for sexual violence by peacekeepers and insist on the participation of women in all peace processes. Britain must also ratify the Council of Europe convention on preventing and combating violence against women, to which it committed three years ago. The principles Hague enunciated are above politics and are not negotiable. There is a manifesto commitment to continue with the work he started. Those of us who work in civil society want this initiative to succeed and will give it the support it merits. We also understand that there is no quick fix and that we all need to be in this for the long haul. |