Responding to sexual violence in Burma
A case study on the UK response to sexual violence in Burma from the 2013 Human Rights and Democracy Report.
In Burma, the UK is funding an Action Aid Myanmar project to improve access to justice for survivors, as well as to develop community programmes to prevent and respond to acts of sexual violence. The project will benefit survivors in Kachin, Kayah, Rakhine, Meiktila, and Pyapon.
The project will raise awareness of sexual violence in target villages, helping people to understand that sexual violence is unacceptable, and to inform them about their legal rights and how to access services, including access to justice. It will train women on basic legal skills so that they can provide advice to survivors within their communities and will also provide support to legal aid providers. In addition, it will aim to ensure community leaders are aware of their role in preventing sexual violence in their communities.
The project will support our existing work on the wider peace process in conflict areas in Burma such as Kachin State. We hope that our continued engagement will encourage the Burmese government to strengthen its own response to sexual violence in conflict.