August 16, 2023 ∙ ARTICLE

Gender-based violence (GBV) against women and girls is one of the most pervasive human rights violations in the world. Globally, 736 million women and girls, approximately one in three, have been victims of GBV at least once in their lives. GBV is an endemic that knows no cultural, social, national, or economic boundaries. Despite the ubiquitous and insidious nature of this human rights violation, it is often treated with apathy and victim-blaming, which shrouds this crime “in a culture of silence.” GBV is particularly heinous and pervasive in conflict zones. Women and girls’ bodies are commodified in wartime as the “spoils of war,” making mass rape and sexual violence a common warfare tactic that sadistically degrades, humiliates, intimidates, and injures women and girls in warring communities. The United Nations (UN) human rights mechanisms have taken major steps within their internal supervisory network to combat this human rights violation over the past three decades. One of the UN human rights bodies that has had a significant impact in systemically combating GBV and the way GBV manifests in conflict zones is the UN’s Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

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