Remember: Ending conflict-related violence
YESTERDAY the United Nations celebrated the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, with the aim to raise awareness and honour the victims and survivors of sexual violence around the world. It was also recognised to pay tribute to all those who have courageously devoted their lives and even lost their lives in standing up for the eradication of these crimes.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon stated that sexual violence is now widely recognised as a deliberate strategy used to shred the fabric of society, to control and intimidate communities, and to force people from their homes.
He said it is important to continue to speak up for the women, girls, men and boys whose bodies for too long have been considered the spoils of war.
The date was chosen to commemorate the adoption on June 19, 2008, of Security Council resolution 1820 in which the council condemned sexual violence as a tactic of war and an impediment to peace building.
Just last month it was revealed that over an eight-year period, from 2007 to 2015, approximately 16,790 reports of sexual abuse against children locally were recorded by the Office of the Children’s Registry.
These incidents, according to the Jamaica AIDS Support for Life (JASL), increase the risk for sexually transmitted infections including HIV which leads to AIDS.
While data from the Ministry of Health shows that the youth are significantly affected by HIV, girls account for the larger percentage of cases in the 10-29 age range. In the age group 15-19 years, four times more girls have reported cases of AIDS than boys. In many of the reported cases, young girls are forced into sex, therefore resulting in various health issues.
JASL recently launched its ‘End Violence Against Women & Girls’ media campaign to raise awareness about the effect of violence and the spread of HIV nationally. The campaign aims to stem the prevailing attitudes and behaviours in the Jamaican society that condone violence against girls.
It is important that we remember to continue these conversations to support this cause in order to protect our own children who often fall victim.
