Measures to Address Sexual Violence in Conflict Situations

DPO’s Conflict-Related Sexual Violence (CRSV) Team has been dedicated to supporting five UN peacekeeping operations in implementing and strengthening the delivery of conflict-related sexual violence mandates.

Notable achievements since February 2020 include the development and launch of the first UN Policy and Handbook for UN Field Missions on CRSV prevention and response. The Team also provided ongoing specialized advice to peacekeeping operations and DPO Headquarters divisions on the mainstreaming of the CRSV mandate within missions, facilitated inter-mission learning, and ensured CRSV was systematically integrated in mission mandate renewal and budgetary processes. In order to raise awareness about the CRSV mandate and promote best practice sharing, in June 2020, DPO published a first of its kind annual summary of activities and good practices in Preventing and Responding to Conflict-Related Sexual Violence by United Nations Peacekeeping Missions.

https://peacekeeping.un.org/sites/default/files/dpo_2020_crsv_annual_summaries_report-signed.pdf

Under the framework of the Multi-Partner Trust Fund (MPTF) for Conflict-Related Sexual Violence (CRSV) project in Ukraine, UNODC is working to improve conflict-related sexual violence responses at the national and local level. UNODC is working to ensure that the Ukrainian legislative and regulatory framework is survivor friendly. This includes, for example, the set-up of a Survivor Advisory Board that will advise Ukraine on integrating survivor perspectives and survivors’ lived experiences into the national response to prevent and respond to CRSV. UNODC is also working with other stakeholders in Ukraine including the National and Migration Police and the Offices of the Prosecutor General to put in place institutional mechanisms to ensure rights-based and effective investigations and prosecutions of Trafficking in Persons with a focus on victims of sexual exploitation. 

UNODC, in partnership with the UN Team of Experts on Rule of Law and Sexual Violence in Conflict, leads the UN Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict network. Together, they are working to enhance collaboration in preventing and addressing sexual violence within the context of terrorism and violent extremism. In 2022, the network hosted two expert-led discussions and webinars to better understand the challenges and good practices in judicial response, and in improve support and services for survivors of CRSV committed in the context of terrorism and violent extremism.

In the framework of the EU-funded GLO.ACT project, UNODC launched the UNODC Toolkit for Mainstreaming Human Rights and Gender Equality into Criminal Justice Interventions to Address Trafficking in Persons and the Smuggling of Migrants.

In Iraq, UNODC supported the Women’s Network Advisory Board and a webinar on the ‘control methods of traffickers', which discussed how perpetrators engage in sexual violence and exploitation.

UNODC continued providing capacity building support to Nigeria and launched support to Mozambique to address sexual and gender-based violence committed by terrorist groups, providing training during the period to Nigerian and Mozambican investigators, prosecutors, and judges to support them to bring perpetrators to justice while respecting human rights. These activities were carried out in cooperation with the UN Team of Experts on the Rule of Law and Sexual Violence in Conflict.

During the reporting period, the UN Trust Fund has supported multiple projects focused on sexual violence in conflict including initiatives which have provided essential services to women and girls in conflict situations, supported refugee and IDP women and girls, and initiatives in post-conflict settings which have sought to address the social stigma and discrimination experienced by survivors sexual violence. 

For example, in Kosovo, Medica Gjakova and Medica Kosova are helping women survivors of conflict-related sexual violence inflicted during the 1998-1999 war. Through comprehensive services, including psychosocial counselling, gynaecological care, legal aid, and economic empowerment, the two organizations have helped survivors heal, reclaim their rights and rebuild their lives. Between 2022 and 2024, Medica Kosova assisted over 300 women in applying for "survivor status", which gives them access to pensions, healthcare and other reparations.  The organization also addresses the rise in intimate partner violence, which in 2024 led to over 2,900 documented cases and three femicides. 

In 2024, 43% of the UN Trust Fund's 27th grant-making cycle funding ($5.7 million) supported initiatives for crisis-affected women and girls, including a dedicated special window that channelled $4.6 million to eight organizations, with at least two-thirds of the special window projects addressing conflict-related sexual violence.

Previously, 18 initiatives supported through a funding window focused on forcibly displaced women and girls and refugees (2016-2022) reached over 35,000 refugee and/or forcibly displaced women and girls, with many also addressing sexual violence, notably in refugee camps among women fleeing conflict.

 IOM continued to be committed and proactive partner of the UN Action Network on Sexual Violence in Conflict, demonstrating its engagement through work on survivor reparations, the intersection of trafficking and CRSV, and, more recently, its intellectual and practical contributions to the nexus between terrorism, CVE, and CRSV. As the key lead within the Network on Reparations for CRSV, IOM played a central role in both civil society and government engagement, particularly in supporting the reintegration of female ex-associate survivors of sexual violence linked to violent extremism. In 2024, IOM contributed to the CRSV Prevention Framework launched by the SRSG, which seeks to enhance structural and operational prevention, including tackling gender inequality as a root cause of sexual violence. Through its Land, Property, and Reparations (LPR) technical unit, IOM also provided governments with specialized training for professionals and promoted non-stigmatizing services to aid survivor rehabilitation. Additionally, IOM reviewed the SG Annual Reports on CRSV, providing critical input on its positioning and contributions to addressing CRSV globally. 

UN Women is a leading entity in the UN Action Network. In coordination with the other 25 member entities, UN Women actively engages in high-level Steering Committee meetings and monthly technical-level discussions on situations of concern, advocacy, and knowledge building. UN Women leads the workstream on understanding the application of a survivor-centered approach, as enshrined in Security Council resolution 2467 (2019), and is engaged in workstreams on technology-facilitated conflict-related sexual violence, the MARA, the nexus of terrorism/violent extremism and CRSV, advocacy, and preventing CRSV. UN Women played a vital role in the development and implementation of the Framework for the Prevention of CRSV (2022), including its pilot roll-out in Ukraine in July 2024. Since 2022, UN Women has chaired the Resource Management Committee for a two-year term. UN Women currently benefits from the Conflict-related Sexual Violence - Multi-Partner Trust Fund as one of six implementing agencies of a joint catalytic project in Ukraine. ROAP contributed guidance on strengthening GBV response in crisis-prone and emergency settings, supporting development actors through resources like the GBV Nexus Brief, and integrating VAWG into crisis planning and resilience efforts across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus, with attention to climate change.

In emergency contexts—including Ukraine, Afghanistan, Palestine, Ethiopia, and other L2 and L3 countries FAO has increasingly integrated training on GBV risks and resilience into its gender analyses, vulnerability assessments, and the formulation of gender-responsive, inclusive policies and humanitarian projects. These sessions specifically aim to equip staff with the knowledge and practical tools needed to anticipate, prevent, and address GBV in crisis situations.  

FAO has been actively working to assess the gendered impacts of conflict, including GBV, to enhance the effectiveness of response strategies and ensure the needs of women and girls are met in crisis situations. In 2024, FAO published the briefing note “Understanding the gender-related impact of the crisis in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank”  emphasizing the importance of identifying gender-based constraints and vulnerabilities for an inclusive and accountable response. Similarly, in 2022, FAO published the “Complementary Information Note on Gender-Related Impacts of the Ukraine Conflict,” which examined how the war increased risks of sexual violence, exploitation, and other forms of GBV for women and girls.  

GBV is increasingly a characteristic of conflict and is often perpetrated against women and girls; and, in some instances, has been used as a tactic of war, UNFPA collaborates with the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict and is a member of the Steering Committee as well as the Expert Advisory Group. UNFPA contributions are to ensure the particular needs of adolescent girls and women as a result of sexual violence are factored in efforts of the Special Representative to address reintegration. UNFPA contributed to the development of high-level papers and to the SG Reports.

UNFPA plays a pivotal role in addressing sexual violence in conflict by adopting a comprehensive approach focused on prevention, response, and survivor support, ensuring that survivors’ needs are met and their rights upheld. UNFPA collaborates with governments, humanitarian organizations, and civil society to provide essential services to women and girls affected by conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV). 

As the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) mandated agency for GBV prevention and response, UNFPA leads and supports multi-sectoral responses to GBV, including CRSV, coordinating efforts across health, legal, protection, and psychosocial sectors. This includes establishing GBV Sub-Clusters in humanitarian settings to coordinate responses, share information, and prevent duplication of efforts. 

As a member of UN Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict and other global initiatives, UNFPA works to strengthen system-wide responses, supporting UN Security Council Resolutions on Women, Peace, and Security (1325, 1820, 1888, 1960) and collaborating with UNICEF, UN Women, and UNHCR to ensure a comprehensive approach to sexual violence in conflict. 

In 2024, UNFPA, with funding from the UN Action Multi-Partner Trust Fund (MPTF), directly supported CRSV survivors in Sudan, South Sudan, Ukraine, and Mali. Data collected through the GBVIMS on CRSV is shared with the Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Arrangements (MARA), adhering to strict safety and ethical protocols in countries such as South Sudan, Mali, Central African Republic, Somalia, and Iraq. UNFPA also co-leads MARA Working Groups in Myanmar, Mali, and the Central African Republic, strengthening responses through a survivor-centered approach. 

2024 highlights:  

• ASRO provides tailored support to seven crisis-affected countries (Sudan, Palestine, Somalia, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, Libya), offering essential medical supplies, GBV survivor assistance, MHPSS, and safe spaces for women and girls. It also supported 42 women-led organizations and enhanced GBV coordination in humanitarian contexts. 
• In Palestine, ASRO partnered with OHCHR for training on CRSV and safe referral processes. 
• WCARO worked with WHO to strengthen clinical management of rape (CMR) capacities, conducting ToT sessions in Côte d'Ivoire and Chad, and planning cascade training in Niger, Central African Republic, Chad, and Mali. 
• UNFPA Nigeria piloted a national CMR ToT focused on testing the new CMR-IPV inter-agency toolkit.