International
Gender/Post-conflict reconstruction specialist Lesley Abdela will chair a discussion courtesy of the
British Council at their headquarters in London in November 2014 on the idea of
a monument dedicated specifically to the female spirit of survival after rape
used systematically
as a strategy of war.
World-wide there exists a deeply damaging and unfair attitude towards women who
have experienced such sexual violence, and this remains an unconscionable stain
on humanity.
Lesley
Abdela has worked 'boots on
the ground' on gender issues in post-conflict regions including Kosova, Sierra
Leone, Aceh, Afghanistan, Nepal, and Iraq. She asks why men injured or killed in
war are treated with respect, dignity and honour, with statues raised to them in
every Capital, whereas women who have been raped in conflicts are met with shame
and derision. Their dignity is stripped away to the point they can never talk to
anyone about their experience, amplifying the medical and psychological
suffering
'Rape has been a
pervasive feature of war from ancient times. Unfortunately, it is both
a very effective and ‘cost-effective’ tool
of warfare, which has been used systematically and strategically linked to
military objectives in innumerable conflicts. It is only relatively recently
that rape has been recognized as a war crime and that prosecutions have been
undertaken by international courts.'
'Sexual violence in
warfare is the most obvious distinctive experience of women in armed conflict;
it is not something that they experience to any great degree in common with
civilians generally, it results in immense suffering and trauma, unrelated to
any arguments as to military necessity, and is almost universal in all types of
warfare.'
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