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Vulnerabilities of children to sale, trafficking and other forms of exploitation in situations of conflict and humanitarian crisis 2017, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- Threats faced by boys and girls do not end when they leave their home countries. As they travel onward, often paying their way through dangerous routes by using exploitative smuggling and trafficking networks, children are subject to further violence, abuse and exploitation, including at borders owing to pushbacks and interceptions by border control officials. Unaccompanied children and those separated from their families face heightened risks, both along the route and upon arrival in transit countries.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Families
- Girls
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and young women with disabilities 2017, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- Evidence on sexual and gender-based violence against girls and young women with disabilities is robust. Studies from across the globe show that they are at increased risk of violence, abuse and exploitation compared with those without disabilities, and with boys and young men with disabilities. Overall, children with disabilities are almost four times more likely to experience violence than children without disabilities. However, the risk is consistently higher in the case of deaf, blind and autistic girls, girls with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities and girls with multiple impairments. Belonging to a racial, religious or sexual minority, or being poor, also increases the risk factor for sexual abuse for girls and young women with disabilities. Humanitarian crises and conflict and post-conflict settings generate additional risks of sexual violence and trafficking that affect girls with disabilities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Vulnerabilities of children to sale, trafficking and other forms of exploitation in situations of conflict and humanitarian crisis 2017, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- There are also indications that the most common form of sexual exploitation for Afghani boys on the move is rape by their traffickers and their “friends”, which they endure without reporting.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Vulnerabilities of children to sale, trafficking and other forms of exploitation in situations of conflict and humanitarian crisis 2017, para. 74
- Paragraph text
- Conflict and natural and humanitarian disasters expose children, and more particularly those unaccompanied or separated from their families, to multifaceted vulnerabilities and put them at a higher risk of being trafficked, sold and sexually exploited, coerced into child or forced marriages, and used in the worst forms of child labour. While girls are more likely to fall victims to sexual exploitation, there are nonetheless also cases of boys being abused.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Vulnerabilities of children to sale, trafficking and other forms of exploitation in situations of conflict and humanitarian crisis 2017, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- In addition, children, especially those who are unaccompanied or live in conflict and humanitarian crisis areas, may be sold or trafficked to serve as combatants in armed conflict. Children are also used as human bombs and human shields. For example, in Iraq, ISIL and other extremist groups traffic boys and young men, including members of the Yazidi minority, into armed conflict, radicalize them to commit terrorist acts, using deception, death threats or the offer of money and women as rewards. In Nigeria, between 2014 and 2016, a total of 90 children (70 girls and 20 boys) were used by Boko Haram in 56 suicide bombings. Children are also compelled to work as porters, cooks, guards and messengers, or are forced to commit crimes, such as looting and physical and sexual violence. In addition, boys and girls in those situations are often sexually abused.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Vulnerabilities of children to sale, trafficking and other forms of exploitation in situations of conflict and humanitarian crisis 2017, para. 85a
- Paragraph text
- [In terms of prevention and the promotion of rights, States, in cooperation with United Nations agencies and programmes, international organizations, host countries and civil society organizations, should:] Recognize and address the specific vulnerability of boys and girls to sale, trafficking and other forms of exploitation in conflict, post-conflict and humanitarian crisis situations;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Vulnerabilities of children to sale, trafficking and other forms of exploitation in situations of conflict and humanitarian crisis 2017, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- At the regional and national levels, children on the move are also vulnerable to sale, trafficking and other forms of exploitation. There are also reports of missing children, some of whom fall into the hands of criminals to continue their journey to reach relatives or acquaintances in another country. In Africa, nearly 3 million children were refugees by the end of 2015. As of mid-2016, 390,000 Nigerian children had been displaced to the neighbouring countries of Cameroon, Chad and the Niger, and a further 1.1 million children had been internally displaced owing to the conflict in the Lake Chad basin. Children have been subjected to abhorrent abuses, mainly at the hands of Boko Haram, which has reportedly recruited and used more than 8,000 children since 2009, abducted at least 4,000 girls, boys and young women, and inflicted sexual violence on more than 7,000 girls and women, often leading to pregnancies. Since the beginning of the conflict in South Sudan, in 2013, children have constituted 66 per cent of the 1.3 million refugees, and the majority of the 1.9 million internally displaced persons. A direct consequence of the war has been the recruitment and use of more than 17,000 children, with a further 3,090 children abducted and 1,130 children sexually assaulted by armed forces and armed groups, among others.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Adequacy of the international legal framework on violence against women 2017, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- Civil society organizations underlined that boys and men should be addressed in the treaty as both perpetrators and potential allies for change. In addition, the correlation of violence against women with violence against children, whether boys being witnesses to domestic violence against their mothers or children of all gender identities being subjected to corporal punishment, needed to be made clear and solutions needed to be part of the treaty.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Gender perspectives on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment 2016, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- Girls in the criminal justice system are at particular risk of experiencing torture and ill-treatment. The majority have prior histories of abuse and violence that serve as primary predictors of their entry into the juvenile justice system. Girls' particular physical and mental health needs often go unrecognized and incarceration itself tends to exacerbate trauma, with girls suffering disproportionately from depression and anxiety and exhibiting a higher risk of self-harm or suicide than boys or adults. Many States lack facilities for separating girls from adults or boys, which significantly increases the risks of violence, including sexual violence. The employment of male guards in girls' facilities significantly increases the risk of abuse, while girls held in remote, segregated facilities are isolated and have limited contact with their families.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Families
- Girls
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 96
- Paragraph text
- As the global community is concerned by the increasing prevalence of collective violence, including violent extremism, it is important to note how the relationship between collective violence and interpersonal forms of violence may reinforce and feed one another. For example, violence against children in families can lead to high prevalence of youth violence and may contribute to the phenomenon of violent extremism. Prohibiting boys from expressing emotions from an early age, enforcing a toxic and primitive understanding of masculinity, has been linked to acts of extreme violence by young men and reinforced a tendency to join groups and movements that are involved in collective violence.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Families
- Youth
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Trafficking in persons in conflict and post-conflict situations 2016, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- Children trafficked into forced military service perform a variety of combatant and supportive roles. Many children, typically boys, are forcibly recruited or kidnapped for use by armed militias in ongoing conflicts. Children are also used as suicide bombers and human shields. For instance in Iraq, ISIL and other extremist groups traffic boys and young men, including members of the Yazidi minority, into armed conflict, radicalize them to commit terrorist acts using deception, death threats or the offer of money and women as rewards. Others are compelled to work as porters, cooks, guards and messengers or are forced to commit crimes, such as looting and physical and sexual violence. Boys and girls in these situations are often sexually abused and may also be forced to take drugs.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Trafficking in persons in conflict and post-conflict situations 2016, para. 66
- Paragraph text
- In addition, the nature and forms of trafficking in persons associated with conflict are highly gendered. For example, abduction into military forces affects males and females differently. Men and boys are typically forced into soldiering while women and girls are generally forced into support roles, and they typically face much greater risk of sexual assault as either a primary purpose or an additional manifestation of their exploitation. As previously noted, sexual enslavement, a practice exacerbated by situations of conflict, is highly gendered in that it disproportionately affects women and girls. Other forms of trafficking-related exploitation particular to or especially prevalent in conflict, including forced and temporary marriage, are highly gendered in their motivation and impact, which underscores the importance of a gender analysis in all trafficking prevention efforts and responses.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Trafficking in persons in conflict and post-conflict situations 2016, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- Throughout their journey and at their destination, migrants, including refugees and asylum seekers forced to flee their country because of armed conflict, are highly vulnerable to physical violence, sexual assault, extortion and trafficking, as well as detention by national authorities. Incidence of trafficking and exploitation, primarily among Afghan, Syrian and Iraqi men and boys with low educational levels and travelling alone, is identified among irregular migrants arriving in Europe along the western Balkan routes.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Trafficking in persons in conflict and post-conflict situations 2016, para. 77b
- Paragraph text
- [Concerned governmental institutions, law enforcement authorities, civil society organizations, academia, United Nations agencies and programmes and international organizations should undertake further research on the different forms of trafficking in persons in relation to conflict and post-conflict situations, including on:] The linkage between gender and trafficking in persons in conflicts, not only with regard to girls and women but also boys and men;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Gender perspectives on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment 2016, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- Gender-based violence, endemic even in peacetime and often amplified during conflict, can be committed against any persons because of their sex and socially constructed gender roles. While women, girls, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons, sexual minorities and gender-non-conforming individuals are the predominant targets, men and boys can also be victims of gender-based violence, including sexual violence stemming from socially determined roles and expectations. As noted by the Committee against Torture in its general comment No. 2 (2007) on the implementation of article 2 of the Convention, gender-based crimes can take the form of sexual violence, other forms of physical violence or mental torment.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- LGBTQI+
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Tackling the demand for the sexual exploitation of children 2016, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- The sexual exploitation of girls, who constitute the majority of victims, is rooted in gender discrimination. Patriarchal structures that promote male sexual domination and do not condemn the commercialization of girls and women are a fundamental underlying level of the demand factor. Culturally imposed feminine gender stereotypes also contribute to the sexual exploitation of women and girls by placing them in the role of serving males, negating women's and girls' ability to make decisions regarding their own sexual and reproductive life and making them prime targets for sexual violence. Likewise, the commodification of the female body reinforces the notion of its consumption, which can be extended to girls by offenders. Gender stereotypes around masculinity also adversely affect boys, with little attention given to their possible vulnerability to sexual exploitation. Boys who are victims of sexual exploitation are consequently much less likely to be able to report a rights violation and to receive care.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Tackling the demand for the sexual exploitation of children 2016, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- In accordance with international law, the general practice is to sentence perpetrators of child sexual exploitation to imprisonment. As far as intermediaries are concerned, penalties vary and are not always commensurate with the gravity of the crime. The length of the deprivation of liberty also varies widely and can in particular be influenced by the age and gender of both the offender and the victim. Regrettably, significant loopholes remain and prevent the conviction of offenders and thus the assurance of accountability. This is the case, for example, for the sexual exploitation of boys or the possession of child sexual abuse material, which in several countries are yet to be criminalized.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Trafficking in persons in conflict and post-conflict situations 2016, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- It is estimated that 10-30 per cent of children in fighting forces are female. Girls who are forcibly recruited or abducted into military service typically face forced domestic labour and sexual violence and exploitation such as forced marriage and/or sexual slavery (see paras. 31-34 below). It is important to acknowledge that while violence and exploitation are often defining aspects of the female experience of conflict, this is not always the case. Young women and girls have also been involved in trafficking by deceiving other girls and boys into joining armed conflict, using the Internet and social media.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Trafficking in persons in conflict and post-conflict situations 2016, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- In addition, the nature and form of trafficking in persons associated with conflict are highly gendered. For example, abduction into military forces affects males and females differently. Men and boys are typically forced into soldiering while women and girls are generally forced into support roles and typically face much greater risk of sexual assault as either a primary purpose or an additional manifestation of their exploitation. As previously noted, sexual enslavement, a practice exacerbated by situations of conflict, is highly gendered in that it disproportionately affects women and girls. Other forms of trafficking-related exploitation particular to or especially prevalent in conflict, including forced and temporary marriage, are highly gendered in their motivation and impact, which underscores the importance of a gender analysis in all trafficking prevention efforts and responses.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Trafficking in persons in conflict and post-conflict situations 2016, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- Children trafficked for forced military service perform a variety of combatant and supportive roles. Many children, typically boys, are forcibly recruited or kidnapped for use by armed militias in ongoing conflicts. Children are also used as suicide bombers and human shields. Others are compelled to work as porters, cooks, guards and messengers or are forced to commit crimes, such as looting and physical and sexual violence. Boys and girls in these situations are often sexually abused and may also be forced to take drugs.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Trafficking in persons in conflict and post-conflict situations 2016, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimates that some 300,000 boys and girls under the age of 18 are involved in more than 30 conflicts worldwide. One in three children in the Kurdistan region of Iraq has been approached for forced or compulsory recruitment in armed conflict. Moreover, children are especially vulnerable to being trafficked into military service by Government armed forces, paramilitary groups and rebel groups if they are separated from their families, are displaced from their homes, live in combat areas or have limited access to education.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Families
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Trafficking in persons in conflict and post-conflict situations 2016, para. 72b
- Paragraph text
- [Concerned governmental institutions, law enforcement authorities, civil society organizations, academia, United Nations agencies and programmes and international organizations should undertake further research on the different forms of trafficking in persons in relation to conflict and post-conflict situations, including on:] The linkage between gender and trafficking in persons in conflicts, not only with regard to girls and women but also boys and men;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Sale of children for the purpose of forced labour 2016, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- A report by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic describes how Yazidi women and girls were sold by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in slave markets, through auctions and sometimes as groups to be resold individually. In the last year, ISIL fighters have started to hold online slave auctions with pictures and personal details of captured women and girls. The fighters, and sometimes their wives, regularly engage Yazidi women and girls in forced domestic labour, in addition to inflicting systematic sexual violence. Yazidi men and boys over the age of puberty are also engaged in forced labour by ISIL in tasks including construction work, digging trenches and looking after cattle (see A/HRC/32/CRP.2).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Sale of children for the purpose of forced labour 2016, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- Discrimination on the basis of age, gender and ethnicity and caste also increases the vulnerability of children to being sold for the purpose of forced labour. With limited exceptions, forced labour victims are much younger than those freely employed. Gender primarily affects the type of exploitation to which children are vulnerable. The sale of children for forced labour in domestic work or for servile marriage mainly affects girls. They respond to common perceptions that girls will be safe and protected and, in the case of domestic work, prepared for married life. Other forms of forced labour, such as forced begging, chiefly involve boys.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Trafficking in persons in conflict and post-conflict situations 2016, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- It is estimated that 10 to 30 per cent of children in fighting forces are female. Girls who are forcibly recruited or abducted into military service typically face forced domestic labour and sexual violence and exploitation such as forced marriage and/or sexual slavery (see paras. 32-35 below). It is important to acknowledge that while violence and exploitation are often defining aspects of the female experience of conflict, this is not always the case. Young women and girls have also been involved in trafficking by deceiving other girls and boys into joining armed conflict, using the Internet and social media.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Trafficking in persons in conflict and post-conflict situations 2016, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- Individuals and communities caught up in conflict are vulnerable to a range of human rights violations. Pre-existing conditions and vulnerabilities, such as structural gender-based and other forms of discrimination affecting women, children and non-citizens, are exacerbated during conflict as opportunities for exploitation increase and protections break down. Conflicts are prolonged by actors who take advantage of situations of lawlessness to reap personal gain through lucrative activities such as trafficking. In this section the Special Rapporteur will look into trafficking into military service and sexual and labour exploitation during conflict involving all persons, including boys, girls and migrants.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Vision-setting report 2016, para. 71
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur regards the prevention of violence against women as an aspect of the mandate that focuses on the elimination of the root causes of violence against women, and its consequences. To that end, she has identified the main components that should be further elaborated, including States' obligations to take positive measures to change harmful stereotypes relating to gender roles conducive to violence and, at the same time, to undertake activities to empower women and reduce their vulnerability to violence; the meaningful inclusion of men and boys to contribute actively to the prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls; and awareness-raising campaigns to fight violence against women on a regular basis and at all levels, in cooperation with national human rights institutions, civil society and non-governmental organizations.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Trafficking in persons in conflict and post-conflict situations 2016, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- In the section below, the Special Rapporteur will examine the issue of the trafficking of children into military service - one of the worst forms of child labour, as well as their trafficking for sexual and labour exploitation during conflict involving all persons, including boys, girls and adult migrants.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Tackling the demand for the sexual exploitation of children 2016, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- In respect to gender-based discrimination and entrenched gender stereotypes, there have been positive initiatives such as the Empowering Young Men to End Sexual Exploitation module created by the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation. It has focused on educating children, particularly boys, about masculinity and the realities of the commercial sex trade, as well as human trafficking.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Trafficking in persons in conflict and post-conflict situations 2016, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- Conflict-related sexual violence takes many forms. Women and girls seeking to survive in conflict zones are often compelled to exchange sexual services and even to "marry" for food, shelter, protection or safe passage. UNHCR has affirmed that women in conflict situations are vulnerable to a range of discriminatory practices that exacerbate their dependence (for example, receiving smaller food rations or not having rations cards or other identity documents in their own name) and are disproportionately exposed to sexual violence. For women and girls abducted into military service, sexual assault is often a feature of their experience. Rape has been used as a tactic of war to humiliate and weaken the morale of the enemy, ethnically cleanse the population, destabilize communities and force civilians to flee. Widespread or systematic sexual assault by government and/or opposition or rebel forces has been documented in multiple modern conflicts, including successive annual reports of the Secretary-General on conflict and related sexual violence since 2009 in which he has identified incidents and patterns of sexual violence in conflict-affected countries employed by parties to armed conflict, primarily against women and girls but also against boys and men (see, for example, S/2015/203).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph