Violence Against Women

Baroness Gould of Potternewton Excerpts

Monday 9th December 2013 Grand Committee

[Baroness Gould of Potternewton]

Asked by

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to address violence against women in countries experiencing conflict.

[Baroness Gould of Potternewton (Lab)]

My Lords, it is a tragedy but a reality that violence against women and girls, be it sexual assault, domestic violence, FGM or forced marriage, is seen by far too many women as part of normal existence. In discussing the question of rape as a weapon of war, I want to concentrate on sexual violence in conflict, although the other issues around violence against women are extremely important.

The United Nations Security Council has declared that the use of rape and sexual violence as a weapon of warfare is a threat to international peace and security and it has passed several resolutions mandating states to take specific measures to end impunity for war rape and to address gender inequality. The question that must be discussed today is what the result of these initiatives is. At this point, I must declare an interest as co-chair of the UK branch of the Global Justice Center.

Rape as a particularly serious form of sexual violence qualifies in international law as a form of torture designed to destroy communities through terror and humiliation. As a weapon it is used more than any other prohibited weapon of war, including starvation, herbicides or dum-dum bullets, yet somehow the degradation and sexual assault of women are not seen as such a significant crime and worthy of prosecution. It can be extremely violent and dangerous. It is psychological warfare designed to humiliate and it is used systematically as a tactic of war.

Girls and women are now at a high risk of physical, sexual and emotional violence from regular soldiers, non-regular army groups and militia, and non-combatants. This risk is compounded by the breakdown of structures of authority, displacement, and the rupture of communities and their coping strategies. Women and girls are often the most vulnerable when humanitarian emergencies occur, but they are often not accorded enough priority by donors at the onset of a humanitarian crisis. It must also be understood that women are not a homogeneous group. Attention has to be given to the fate of the large number of widows, for instance, and their children, as well as all women at risk.

Sexual violence has wide-ranging negative consequences: physical trauma, disease, HIV/AIDS, psychological trauma, unwanted pregnancy, maternal mortality and the risks of resorting to non-sterile or unsafe methods of abortion, thus perpetuating the physical and psychological effects of the injury. The horror of rape can lead to severe health implications or death. In many societies, the shame of rape is a burden for the survivor, causing the woman to become a social outcast and frequently obliging her to leave her family and community, which may lead to poverty and often to prostitution.

Whether it is in the iconic square in Cairo, or during the 100 days of the Rwandan genocide, when it is alleged that 400,000 women were raped, or in Bosnia, where it is estimated that 200,000 to 250,000 women were raped—with only perhaps 50 prosecutions, I should add—or in the Central African Republic, where campaigning militia and government forces alike continue to rain terror over the population by the systematic use of rape, even though a hearing is being conducted against a military commander, the war rape continues, and women and girls made pregnant by such rape are denied access to abortion due, directly or indirectly, to the US abortion ban on humanitarian aid. There is evidence that in Libya, in 2011, Gaddafi deliberately used rape as a punishment. Today, in Colombia, sexual violence is perpetrated by armed actors, both state and non-state, but it is the state security forces’ involvement in sexual violence that has a particularly devastating effect since those forces are mandated to protect the Colombian population. A woman from Colombia said to me, “Their uniforms should symbolise security, discipline and public service, but instead they symbolise the fear of rape”. Amnesty International reported the terrible situation of women in Syria in fear of sexually based violence fleeing to camps where they cannot go out at night because of that continuing fear of sexual violence, when they thought that they were going to safety.

Girls and women raped in situations of armed conflict are considered the wounded and sick. That means that they have absolute rights to non-discriminatory medical care and attention under Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, which states that no adverse distinction should be made on any grounds other than medical ones. However, because of the restrictions placed on the use of aid for the purpose of abortion, non-discrimination might signify that the outcome for each gender must be the same, but the treatment is not and should not be identical. Consequences—most notably pregnancy—necessitate distinct medical care, including the option of abortion. Denying abortion to female victims of war rape who are forced to bear the children of their rapists violates Common Article 3, the prohibition against torture and cruel treatment.

The UK’s partner of choice for humanitarian aid to persons wounded or sick in armed conflict is the International Committee of the Red Cross. Despite the UK’s explicit policies on safe abortion and gender equality, the ICRC, which receives more than 20% of its annual budget from the United States, operates under the US abortion ban, stating in its internal operational guidelines that,

“the ICRC’s general position … is that its medical staff do not perform abortions”.

The ICRC further advises that such medical care is governed by domestic abortion laws, not the medical needs of the patient as required by the Geneva Convention. Nearly all of the UK’s humanitarian aid for victims of armed conflict is given to humanitarian aid entities that discriminate against female rape victims by denying them medically needed abortions.

This is in no way to diminish the important role that the Government have played in highlighting this crucial issue. It was encouraging to hear this statement in the Queen’s Speech:

“My government will work to prevent sexual violence in conflict worldwide”.

They have increased efforts to tackle this issue through the Foreign Secretary’s preventing sexual violence initiative, which aims to increase the number of perpetrators brought to justice and is signed by 120 member states. Perhaps the Minister can update us on what progress has been made on that initiative. Importantly, it was supported by the G8 Declaration on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict this year and I am sure that we all look forward to the outcome of the proposed global summit.

Resolution 2122, which supports abortion access for survivors of rape in war, noting the need for,

“access to the full range of sexual and reproductive health services, including regarding pregnancies resulting from rape, without discrimination”,

is in line with the Government’s announcement on 9 January this year that the option of abortion is a necessary component of medical care for women and girls impregnated by war rape. This resolution represents a step forward in recognising the rights of female victims of war, so my question to the Minister has to be whether this policy has now been incorporated into relevant DfID policies. Has there been a revision of the safe and unsafe abortion practice paper that limits the provision of DfID support for abortion services strictly to situations where abortion is legal under national laws? Those actions are vital if we are to make change happen.

Further initiatives that might be followed by the Government are to remove any barriers to the implementation of the important Security Council Resolution 2106 by the UK making a bilateral request for the US to remove its abortion ban on humanitarian aid and publicly to support access to safe abortions for female war victims. How do the Government intend to follow through the recommendation of the House of Commons Select Committee on International Development that all UK aid partners should inform girls and women raped and impregnated in armed conflict of their rights under international humanitarian law, including their right to abortion as a component of non-discriminatory medical care? The UK has the power to ensure that its aid complies with the Geneva Conventions and the Security Council resolutions.

Effective responses to sexual and gender-based violence have to ensure medical, psychological and material support, as well as access to justice for survivors. This requires strong political commitment and leadership at both national and global levels. If we are to look forward to the future, we really have to see a reduction, if not the elimination, of these terrible atrocities against women and girls.