Cooperate to make women actors of peace and security

Sexual violence has become a tool of modern warfare. The victims are women of all ages, but often young girls; and the results are unwanted pregnancies, HIV infection and social stigmatisation.

Between 20,000 and 50,000 women are estimated to have been raped during the war in Bosnia in the 1990s. In Liberia, a country ravaged by war for decades, 3 out of 4 women have been exposed to sexual violence. In the province of South Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo, 40 rapes are reported every day.

However, women are not only victims, but should be seen as actors in preventing conflict and bringing about sustained peace. Our perception of security should go far beyond the traditional notion of military security, to cover aspects such as access to clean water, education, electricity and safe roads for pedestrians.