Today, Condoleezza Rice leads the United Nations Security Council in a discussion of sexual violence as a tactic of war. While the United Nations has previously recognized that sexual violence against women occurs in war, it has not created concrete steps for alleviating this atrocity or mechanisms for oversight and information gathering, according to Relief Web. This debate may lead to a resolution addressing the issue.
BuaNews (South Africa) reports that there are still shockingly low numbers of women involved in conflict resolution, military observers, civilian police, and observers of peacekeeping missions. Based on data in South Africa, increased women’s involvement in peacekeeping enhances the mission’s effectiveness and reduces the incidence of sexual violence against women and children.
