Global Responses to Sexual and Gender-Based Violence
The UN estimates that 840 million women have been subjected to at least one form of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in their lifetimes and that every ten minutes, a woman or girl is killed in her home by a family member or intimate partner. SGBV disrupts economies, burdens communities, and drains up to 3.7% of GDP of some countries. Maintaining the status quo – i.e. refusing to prevent and punish instances of SGBV - costs $1.5 trillion annually. This project seeks to prioritize SBGV as a matter of national and international security, to connect SGBV during peacetime to sexual violence perpetrated during wartime (the ‘continuum of violence’), and to improve outcomes for all survivors of SGBV.
A Security Imperative
Sexual and gender-based violence is a security crisis hiding in plain sight. SGBV destabilized communities, drains national resources, and undermines development gains. This project reframes SGBV as a strategic priority, making the case that prevention and accountability are essential to national and international security.
Pathways to Accountability
From the Genocide Convention to domestic legal frameworks, mechanisms exist to address SGBV, but they remain underutilized and unevenly applied. This project examines what accountability looks like in different contexts, identifying the legal tools, institutional reforms, and policy interventions that can improve outcomes.
