International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict

The impact of COVID-19 on survivors of conflict-related sexual violence.

The already common under-reporting of conflict-related sexual violence, due to stigma, insecurity, fear of reprisals and lack of services, has been exacerbated by COVID-19 containment measures. Blockades, curfews, quarantines, fears of contracting or transmitting the virus, mobility restrictions, and limited access to services and safe spaces (closed shelters and clinics were repurposed for pandemic response) has further accentuated existing structural, institutional, and socio-cultural barriers to reporting such crimes.

The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically affected the lives of victims and survivors of conflict-related sexual violence, as well as all aspects of the work carried out by the offices of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict and that of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, and the United Nations as a whole.

UN Resolutions

In June 2015, the General Assembly proclaimed, in its resolution A/RES/69/293, 19 June as the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict to raise awareness of the need to end it, honor victims and survivors of sexual violence around the world, and pay tribute to all those who have courageously dedicated their lives to the struggle to eradicate these crimes and lost their lives in that endeavor.
In response to the rise of violent extremism, the Security Council adopted resolution S/RES/2331 (2016), the first to address the nexus between human trafficking, sexual violence, terrorism and transnational organized crime. Recognizing 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 the official reparations granted to victims of terrorism.