Extract

Introduction

Sexual violence (SV) is defined as any sexual act or any attempt to obtain a sexual act through violence or coercion. SV is common. According to current estimates, 27%–65% of men and 30%–35.6% of women have been sexually victimized at some time in their lives.1

A distinct type of SV is wartime rape related to a political conflict or conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV). Such rape can be a byproduct of the conflict or its designated weapon. CRSV has been used throughout human history and aims to terrorize and destroy individuals, families, and communities and is strikingly common. Between 200 000 and 350 000 women were raped in conflicts in Rwanda, Sierra Leona, and Liberia between 1989 and 2003.2 The prevalence rates of CRSV against men in specific conflict-affected countries, derived from cross-sectional surveys, range from less than 1% in Côte d’Ivoire to 32.6% in Liberia.3 In 2022, the human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine documented 85 cases of CRSV against civilians and prisoners of war: 52 men, 31 women, 1 girl, and 1 boy.4 During the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel in 2023, evidence of tens to hundreds of CRSV cases was captured in addition to the testimonies on sexual assaults and torture while in Hamas captivity. In 2008, the UN Security Council recognized CRSV as a threat to international peace. Based on the records updated in 2024, 58 entities spread across 20 countries were identified as suspected of being responsible for inflicting CRSV.4

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