Sexual violence against women rises amid post-coup conflict: advocacy group

By Admin 05 Nov 2024

DMG Newsroom
5 November 2024, Sittwe

Women are increasingly insecure due to the military conflict in Myanmar, and at least nine women were sexually assaulted last month alone, according to a report released by the Burmese Women’s Union (BWU) on Tuesday.

The BWU reported that four women lost their lives as a result of sexual assault by the military regime and five women were injured as a result of conflict-related sexual violence.

In September, there were six women who were injured due to sexual assault nationwide, with the October figures indicating a marked rise.

“As the regime commits human rights violations in various ways, women are losing their lives every day due to sexual violence and other human rights violations,” the BWU report said.

“As a woman, I am worried and haunted by the violence against women. I am more worried because the regime uses weapons to commit sexual violence against women,” said a local woman in Arakan State.

The regime’s sexual violence against women is perpetrated not only in areas of armed conflict, but also in non-conflict settings such as prisons, interrogation and detention centres and checkpoints, according to a BWU report from last month.

While sexual violence against women occurs during times of conflict, survivors and their families often do not speak out due to safety concerns, the report said.

BWU General Secretary Naw Khin San Htwe said that it is difficult for women who are victims of sexual violence to get justice.

“We must do everything we can to stop this violence,” she added. “The military regime must be held accountable for its crimes. Therefore, international assistance is needed. It is also necessary to process the records of the violence committed by the military regime in order to be able to prosecute under international law.”

Seventy-one women and girls were killed and 44 were injured as a result of the military’s airstrikes, shelling, massacres, arbitrary arrests, and sexual violence including rape and gang rape in October, according to data compiled by the BWU.

At least 1,264 women and girls were killed at the hands of Myanmar’s military regime across the country, including Arakan State, from February 1, 2021, to November 5, 2024, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) said in a recent report.