WOMENS RIGHTS AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN ARMED CONFLICTS IN THE WESTERN REGION OF COTE D IVOIRE

📄 Project Abstract

Sexual violence in war time is a grave and dehumanizing act. From ancient wars to modern conflicts, as populations suffer the pang of guns, women and other vulnerable groups endure untold additional harms. These harms include, but are not limited to sexual violence, manifesting as coerced undressing, gang rape, sexual slavery, forced marriage, involuntary abortion, compulsory sterilization and undesirable prostitution. They have left behind indelible mental and physical scars on the victims thereby violating their fundamental human rights. Côte d'Ivoire could not escape this sad reality during the country's armed conflicts as many women were subjected to sexual atrocities. International Jurisprudence and United Nations Resolutions prescribed that such crimes vest on victims the right to rehabilitation. Therefore, this research examined the effectiveness of the rehabilitative measures put in place for the female victims of sexual violence in the Ivorian Western region armed conflicts f...