Chronic underreporting of crimes and limited access to care has only been compounded by the movement restrictions, lockdowns and cuts in service.
During the pandemic, humanitarian workers in conflict zones across the world are reporting new cases of rape and gang rape daily. Presenting the Secretary-General’s latest report on sexual violence in conflict (document S/2021/312), she underscored his strong case for national COVID-19 response and recovery plans that include stronger protection efforts and more access to victim-centred support services. “The only cure for these overlapping ills is an injection of political resolve,” she stressed, insisting that the COVID-19 moment must be more than “just a point in time” in human history. Instead, she said, they should shift their historically massive military expenditures towards human resilience.
Spotlighting worrying increases in misogyny and attacks on women who are visible in public life, she urged States - many of whose resources are dwindling amid the pandemic’s economic shocks - not to cut funding to crucial health care and protection programmes for victims of sexual and gender-based violence. Pramila Patten, who is the Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, briefed the 15-member Council’s quarterly debate on women, peace and security, which was held in a videoconference format. Facing pandemic lockdowns, spiking violence and eroded access to services and legal protections, women in war zones continue to suffer and global commitments remain largely unmet, the United Nations senior official on sexual violence in conflict told the Security Council today, calling for a “paradigm shift” in how resources are allocated in the post-COVID-19 world.
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