In armed conflicts around the world, sexual violence is perpetrated at an alarming rate – including against children. Multiple challenges limit evidence collection, preventing accountability for sexual violence. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Physicians for Human Rights and our partners are supporting child survivors of sexual violence through the creation of child-friendly spaces. […]

Table of Contents Introduction Conflict-related sexual violence is an enduring problem globally. The burden of this violence often affects the most vulnerable within society, including women and girls, racial or other minorities, refugees and internally displaced persons, and in particular, children. According to the UN Secretary-General’s 2024 report on children and armed conflict, almost 30,705 […]

Health care workers in DRC have reported a “massive influx of cases” of conflict-related sexual violence among adults and children.

Military actors in Tigray, Ethiopia have perpetrated brutal and widespread acts of conflict-related sexual violence, even after following the signing of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement.

Executive Summary In August 2017, the armed forces of Myanmar (Tatmadaw) unleashed a campaign of widespread and systematic attacks on the country’s Rohingya communities, escalating previous episodes of violent human rights abuses committed against the Rohingya population. The United Nations (UN) and multiple human rights groups documented that Myanmar security forces committed rape, gang rape, […]

For such a small piece of tissue, the hymen has gained outsized status as the arbiter of virginity. But can it really do that?

Traffic is horrible on my drive back to Nairobi from a suburban town on the outskirts of the capital, where the Program on Sexual Violence in Conflict Zones at Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) has just finished its latest training on forensic documentation. Between the stop and go, I meditate to the drone of trucks […]