The use of sexual violence in war is one of the great horrors of our age. It is hard to document, let alone investigate. Perpetrators do not discriminate because it’s not about sex but violence, terror, power and control. When rape is committed during conflict, it has often been seen as an inevitable part of war and so it has been allowed to go unpunished.
But even war has rules. So, just as the world could agree that land mines have no place on the battlefield, the world must agree to end sexual violence in conflict.
In London, the UK Foreign Secretary, William Hague, and UN Special Envoy, Angelina Jolie, are co-hosting the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict. We are delighted that Malta’s Foreign Minister, George Vella, is in attendance. Representatives of over 100 governments, civil society, the military and the judiciary are also taking part. So too is the public.
Events will also take place around the world, including in Malta. The British High Commission and Aditus foundation will be holding a forum on the ‘Rehabilitation of refugee survivors of sexual violence’ tomorrow. The cause of ending sexual violence in conflict is relevant, indeed imperative, for every nation on earth.
At the summit in London, government representatives will be asked to commit to concrete action that will help remove wartime rape and sexual violence from the world’s arsenal of cruelty. You can help to ensure they do so.
It will be a summit like no other because sexual violence is a crime like no other. Women and men are made to suffer its horrors in conflicts around the world. Many victims are very young girls and boys. Sexual violence carries a corrosive and devastating impact that lasts a lifetime: an unjust and destructive shame for the victims and their families.
But we firmly believe that this can – and must – change.
The appalling truth is that only a tiny number of perpetrators of these crimes have ever been brought to trial, let alone convicted. That is why at the summit we will launch the first international protocol on the documentation and investigation of sexual violence in conflict.
The protocol in question will help investigators preserve information and evidence in the aftermath of an attack, improve the chances of someone being successfully prosecuted later and also protect both the victims and the survivors from further trauma.
Sexual violence carries a corrosive and devastating impact that lasts a lifetime
At the summit this week, we want governments to make sure their national laws on rape and sexual violence are in line with international standards.
The summit will also look at the role the military can play. When sexual violence occurs in conflict zones, soldiers are often the first people on the scene but are not always properly equipped to deal with it.
This needs to change.
And armies are, of course, often responsible for carrying out these abhorrent acts. This must stop.
Finally, we hope the governments of the world’s wealthiest nations will announce new funding support.
But government action alone is not enough. We need every family and community to change the culture that stigmatises survivors and to be united in their abhorrence for these crimes, so that any man with a gun will think twice before ordering or committing rape.
Will you add your voice to the global call for decisive action? You can join the conversation on twitter @end_svc using #TimeToAct and watch and share the animation on You Tube, ‘Don’t believe the thumbnail, this is the stuff of nightmares’, which depicts the horrors of rape and sexual violence through the eyes of a child.
It is time to support survivors, shatter the culture of impunity and ensure that justice is done, both now and in the future.
It is #TimeToAct.
Rob Luke is British High Commissioner to Malta.