Sexual and gender-based violence in Myanmar and the gendered impact of its ethnic conflicts in English
committed sexual and gender-based violence with the same intent of targeting the civilian
population.461 However, further investigation is required.
210. The Mission is concerned, on the basis of cases it has investigated, that EAO justice
systems are inadequate in addressing allegations of sexual and gender-based violence. The
Mission also notes that it is a war crime for EAOs in conflict situations to sentence their
own members without affording them due process and fair trial rights in regularly
constituted courts operating in accordance with international standards of justice and the
rule of law.
X. Consequences of sexual and gender-based violence and the
gendered impact of Myanmar’s ethnic conflicts
A.
The Rohingya community
211. The consequences and impacts of sexual and gender-based violence are wide and
varied for the Rohingya community. Rohingya women, in particular, suffer enduring
consequences as survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, including forced and early
marriages of girls, unwanted pregnancies, pregnancy terminations and the care of children
conceived through rape.
212. Sexual violence has caused severe and long-lasting physical and mental injuries.
Women interviewed by the Mission reported experiencing pain in the vagina and lower
abdomen area during sexual intercourse.462 Men who experienced sexual torture in
detention continue to suffer enduring physical and psychological injuries, including
bleeding from the anus, loss of cognitive function, loss of emotional control, loss of erectile
function and inability to work.463
213. The inadequacy of specific medical expertise in Rakhine related to rape exacerbates
the effects of sexual violence. Improvements in access to specialized care and adequate
referral pathways are needed to address the sexual and reproductive health needs of women.
In 2017, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in
Myanmar found that the limited capacity of providers in Rakhine, as well as restrictions on
women’s freedom of movement due to increased militarization, limited access to lifesaving services for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence.464
214. The United Nations and other organizations noted an increase in the number of
pregnant women and girls in the refugee camps in Bangladesh between May and June
2018.465 The exact number of children born out of rape is not known. It is presumed that
most births occurred at home and were not registered. The lack of information may be
attributable to the stigma associated with rape.466 Recognition of children born out of rape is
hard for some mothers, who find these children a constant reminder of the rape they were
subjected to. A survivor of rape described her child born out of rape as “not our child - a
lost child”.467 Other victims terminated their pregnancies using traditional abortifacients or
through medical interventions, with a rise in requests after November 2017. 468
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
A/HRC/39/CRP.2, para. 370; PM-012.
EI-089, EI-031, EI-097.
NI-008, NM-002.
A/HRC/34/67, para. 56. Access is particularly limited in conflict areas and those highly militarized
areas in Rakhine State.
United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund “More than 60 Rohingya babies born in
Bangladesh refugee camps every day”–(17 May 2018).
K-129, K-124, Sunaina Kumar and Fiona Weber-Steinhaus,“ A gift from God: the Rohingya refugees
adopting orphaned babies.”(The Guardian, 25 December 2018).
NI-013, K-124.
NM-001, NI-018, K-129, K-124.
49
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