Statement for Immediate Release
(New York, 10 October 2018)
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Ms. Pramila Patten, draws attention to the deep trauma of conflict-related sexual violence and calls for more specialized, timely and targeted mental health care services for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence.
Sexual violence in conflict is a serious crime affecting millions of people, women and girls primarily, but also men and boys, around the world. Rape and other forms of sexual violence continue to be used as tactics of war and terrorism, designed not only to inflict bodily harm on the victims, but also to terrify, dominate, humiliate and degrade them, their families and communities.
Available evidence on the psychological impact of sexual violence suggests that it is often life-long, and even inter-generational. Special Representative Patten recalls how, during a recent visit to Sarajevo, survivors of sexual violence during the Bosnian War shared with her the enduring psychological consequences they continue to suffer 23 years after the conflict.
Indeed, sexual violence can have serious and multiple health, social and economic repercussions for survivors, as well as their social networks and communities. Survivors are more likely to exhibit symptoms of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), low self-esteem and suicidal thoughts. Their family members are also at considerable risk of psychological harm, particularly when they have been forced to witness the violence and have been powerless to protect the victim, or, as has been the case in several conflicts, they have been compelled to participate in the rape of their own family members.
The reign of terror, the scale of brutality and the sheer cruelty of the acts of sexual violence being committed against women and girls in many conflicts, leads to long-lasting trauma and suffering, in addition to medical consequences, such as sexually transmitted diseases or unwanted pregnancies, and social exclusion due to stigma and isolation. 鈥淚n several of my field missions, survivors shared with me the profound impact of the sexual atrocities they have endured, on their physical and mental health. I heard harrowing and heart-wrenching stories of lactating or pregnant women being gang-raped in South Sudan; Rohingya women and girls being tied to rocks or trees and gang-raped; Yezidi women and girls being sold like livestock in open market places and kept in sexual slavery for years and raped multiple times per day鈥�, Special Representative Patten recounts.
鈥淢y encounters with survivors of sexual violence during these field visits have revealed their intense psychological distress, as well as gaps in the timely provision of psychological support including specialized mental health care services such as counseling for PTSD. In Maiduguri, Nigeria, I met with very distressed young women who have become pregnant as a result of rape by Boko Haram and who have been abandoned by their families and communities, for bearing an 鈥榚nemy child鈥� whose very existence is a constant reminder of their sexual assault. Most of them had not received any psychosocial support. Similarly, many women and girls I met in Mosul, Iraq, in March 2018聽informed me that since their release from ISIL captivity in December 2017, they had not received any medical or psychosocial support. A psychologist conceded that she could not treat any of the 22 newly-released women and girls as they were in a semi-comatose state and/or in a state of shock, when released from captivity鈥�.
Special Representative Patten chairs an inter-agency network known as 蘑菇视频 Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict, which includes WHO as an active member. On behalf of the 蘑菇视频 Action network, WHO has convened practitioners and stakeholders in this field to support the integration of mental health and psychosocial interventions into the emergency humanitarian response. This has led to the development of practical tools to enhance the response to the specific psychosocial and mental health needs of sexual violence survivors in conflict-affected settings, and to the dissemination of guidance to inform community-based psychosocial support programming in areas beset by access barriers and a paucity of trained professionals. Early mental health and psychosocial support interventions are essential components of the comprehensive package of care needed to restore the well-being of sexual violence survivors.
World Mental Health Day provides an opportunity for all stakeholders to discuss what more can be done to make psychosocial support and mental health care a reality for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence. 鈥淚nvestment by governments and intensified cooperation among the social, health and education sectors for comprehensive, integrated, evidence-based programmes are essential,鈥� concludes Special Representative Patten.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Ms. G茅raldine Boezio
Office of the Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict
Tel: +1 917 367 3306聽聽聽 Email: geraldine.boezio@un.org
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