Gender-based Violence Disclosure
2019- 2022
This project was conducted in three countries: Greece, Kenya and Mexico and is a continuation from our original Practitioner’s Toolkit for Mexico titled “The Silence I Carry” (Revised, 2020). The report for this project, “Choosing to Speak, Learning to Hear,” accompanies the toolkit, “Gender-Based Violence Disclosure Toolkit: Responding to Gender-Based Violence Disclosure in Humanitarian Crisis Settings,” which is designed to be adaptable around the world.
Understanding Conflict Related Sexual Violence in Ethiopia
November 2021- October 2022
In 2022, the Center for Human Rights, Gender and Migration and the Mukwege Foundation collaborated on a study focused on sexual violence occurring in the context of the current armed conflict in Ethiopia. Powered by a transdisciplinary research team of Brown School and School of Law students and external experts from the U.S. and Ethiopia, this research combined reliable open source material with key informant interview data to shed light on who was reportedly committing conflict-related sexual violence, against whom, in what ways, and why. The study also examined relevant impacts on individuals and health care infrastructures in Northern Ethiopia. It covers the conflict period from November 2020 through May 2022.
The Digital Dialogue Series
Sexual violence is a widespread and chronic issue around the world. National efforts to address impunity for conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) have led to progress and faced challenges. The UN Team of Experts initiated a Digital Dialogue Series to address topics covered in the Special Issue of the Journal of International Criminal Justice on CRSV. Our center is a proud partner of this series.
The first webinar in the Digital Dialogue Series was held on July 21, 2020 to celebrate the launch of a Special Issue of the Journal of International Criminal Justice (JICJ) on Progress and Challenges of National Efforts to Address Impunity for Sexual Violence. Center Director Kim Thuy Seelinger was a contributor to the JICJ Special Issue.
Seelinger was also a featured panelist for the first webinar, alongside Ms. Pramila Patten (Under-Secretary General and Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict), Ms. Margot Wallström (former Minister for Foreign Affairs for Sweden and former Under-Secretary General and Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict), Mr. Guido Acquaviva (Member of the Board of the Journal of International Criminal Justice), Ms. Karen Naimer (Director of Programs, Physicians for Human Rights), and Mr. Daniele Perissi (Head of the Great Lakes Program, TRIAL International).
The Missing Peace Initiative: Missing Peace Scholars Workshop
The Missing Peace Initiative, born in 2012, connects policymakers, practitioners, and academics to strengthen understanding of and evidence-based response to conflict-related sexual violence. The Missing Peace Initiative also supports new research on conflict-related sexual violence through its Missing Peace Scholars Network. The initiative is organized by the United States Institute of Peace, the Centre on Gender, Peace and Security at the Peace Research Institute Oslo, Women In International Security, and the Center for Human Rights, Gender and Migration.
In 2020, the Center for Human Rights, Gender and Migration hosted the first virtual Missing Peace Scholars Workshop entitled COVID-19 and Conflict-related Sexual Violence: Relationships and Implications for Research. The workshop culminated in a discussion with leading experts on July 2, 2020. Featured panelists included Ms. Pramila Patten, Special Representative to the UN Secretary General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, and Ms. Dominique Vidale-Plaza, Gender-based Violence Specialist from the Dr. Denis Mukwege Foundation. Their remarks were followed by insights from academic experts Dr. Torunn Tryggestad, Dr. Lindsay Stark, and Dr. Michele Leiby.