In this section we will collect examples of campaigns and projects aiming at combating sexual violence in conflict. Please do not hesitate to inform us about other initiatives that should be included in this list.
Here are some of the most recent and viral campaigns:
Get Cross: is a joint effort by a network of UN agencies known as UN Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict to prevent the use of rape as a tactic of war and respond effectively to the needs of survivors. Its GET CROSS! initiative calls on members of the public, as well as celebrities and other prominent figures at the national level, to submit a photograph of themselves adopting the crossed-armed ‘X’ gesture, sending the message that sexual terror will not be tolerated. Photos are showcased on the Stop Rape Now website.
Stop Rape in Conflict: launched in 2012, the Campaign has worked alongside activists and civil society organizations to put the issue of sexual violence in conflict on the international agenda.
On 10-13 June 2014, the UK will host a Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict in London. The Summit aims to create irreversible momentum against sexual violence in conflict and deliver practical action that impacts those on the ground. At the Global Summit, the Campaign will:
- Highlight the activism of Campaign members working to stop rape and introduce key policy makers and the general public to their work.
- Feature Campaign members from the Democratic Republic of Congo and their incredible grassroots activism through an exhibit of photography and videos from our recent delegation to eastern Congo.
- Amplify the voices of sexual violence survivors and support their coordinated activist efforts with the launch of our Survivors United For Action network.
Read more about the Summit.
The Nobel Women’s Initiative: The Nobel Women’s Initiative works with partner organizations at the local level to bring attention to the prevalence and severity of sexual violence in conflict situations worldwide.
Women Under Siege: WMC’s Women Under Siege is a journalism project that investigates how rape and other forms of sexualized violence are used as tools in genocide and conflict throughout the 20th century and into the 21st. “In the belief that understanding what happened then might have helped us prevent or prepare for the mass sexual assaults of other conflicts, from Bosnia to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, this Women’s Media Center project is exploring this linkage to heighten public consciousness of causes and preventions.”
Congo/Women- Portraits of War: In 2009, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) produced an international photography exhibition called Congo/Women: Portraits of War, which compels viewers to acknowledge and respond on some level to the suffering endured by women and girls in the Democratic Republic of Congo and to recognize the human faces behind it. Congo/Women has been shown in cities across the United States and Europe, and an online slide show that juxtaposes the photographs with reactions of the people viewing them can be viewed online.
