The "Silent War Against Women and Girls"

Stacey Levitt
October 2008

Every day millions of women and girls worldwide experience physical, sexual and psychological violence. According to the United Nations, one in three women around the world are likely to be victims of gender-based violence (GBV) in their lifetime, including sexual abuse, rape, genital mutilation, trafficking and forced prostitution.

Photo: UNICEF/ HQ03-0351/Roger LeMoyne Women wait to receive medical care at Panzi Hospital in the DRC.

In areas of armed conflict, such violence is increasingly being employed as a strategic weapon of terror. Currently, in countries including Kenya, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), women and girls of all ages—from babies as young as 14 months to grandmothers of 75 years—are being assaulted by armed men, actions that often irreparably break the body, mind and spirit.

Even after the physical wounds have healed, survivors face enormous stigma and shame, and both women and their families live in a constant state of fear of additional attacks. Survivors of GBV are often considered unworthy of marriage, and if their injuries prevent them from bearing children, they lose what little social standing they once had.

“Gender-based violence has a devastating impact on individual women and families and on communities and society at large,” says U.S. Fund for UNICEF (UNICEF) Child Protection Officer Pamela Shifman. “It literally affects every aspect of society.”

Wars Encourage a Culture of Violence

Labeled one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, the ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo is one of the deadliest on record. CBS News reports that over the past decade, more than 4 million people have been killed—more than in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Darfur combined. In the South Kivu province in eastern DRC, an estimated 40 women are raped every day.

Warfare tends to amplify violent traditions. “In conflict, post-conflict and transitional settings, there is often a ‘culture’ of violence and abuse that has developed over a long period of time,” says Amelia Kinahoi-Siamomua, Senior Advisor for Gender Equity and Diversity at CARE. “In these settings, it is even more difficult to engage government, policymakers and other leaders.”

Increasingly, rape has been used as a weapon of war against civilian populations in such countries as Liberia, Rwanda and Somalia. In the DRC and Sudan, systematic rape campaigns are another form of “ethnic cleansing.” In such situations, armed groups use systematic and brutal rape as a means of terrorizing entire communities and forcing submission to their power.

Global Impact member charities work constantly to stop this vicious cycle, confronting the causes of GBV, providing care for women and girls who are victimized and lobbying for improved responses by health care and law enforcement officials.

“There is no quick fix,” says UNICEF’s Shifman. “There’s no vaccine that can stop violence against women and girls. The biggest obstacle we face is changing the social norms and values.”

Recognizing that empowering women also strengthens families and communities, member charities integrate services for the victims of GBV with all their programs—including emergency response, education and microloans—using many different strategies. As just one example, the International Rescue Committee recently gave cameras to women in Côte d’Ivoire so they could document their lives, including the violence.

Charities provide intervention training for police and health care workers. “They see victims all the time,” Shifman says, “but the idea that they can do something about it is novel.” Member charities work in partnership with local organizations and agencies to establish grassroots education and training for families and communities.

Member charity Women for Women International Annual Giving Officer Lateisha Garrett summarizes this spirit, saying, “We’re offering a lifeline for women who are really out of options.” She adds, “We’re offering hope and backing it up with services and training and the opportunity to go from being a victim to being a citizen.”

GBV Programs of Member Charities

Here is a representative sampling of Global Impact member charity programs addressing the needs of women and girls who are victims of gender-based violence (GBV):

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