Fifteen years ago, the United Nations Security Council called for the protection of women and girls during armed conflict when it passed Resolution 1325 on “Women, Peace and Security”. However, current crises such as those in South Sudan and Iraq demonstrate how sexualised and other forms of gender-based violence are still gruesome reality for many women and girls.
Faced with this sobering situation, the organisers of the event invited experts from government and civil society to the Foreign Office in order to discuss practical approaches to implementing the UN Resolution.
Counteracting violence against women, supporting survivors of sexualised violence, promoting women's rights
Some 40 participants considered possible answers to the following questions: What do preventive measures to counteract violence against women and girls look like? What forms of support do survivors of sexualised violence need? What contributions to the promotion of women’s rights can be made at the diplomatic level?
There were presentations from Ms Rashida Manjoo, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, Ms Katharina Braig, Director of the Legal and Consular Department at the German Embassy in Kabul, and Monika Hauser, founder of medica mondiale.
You can read the Expert Dialogue documentation here.