A/HRC/43/56 drove them to roam around civilian inhabited areas in search of food and water, rendering women and girls vulnerable to abuse. 50. Though conflict at the national level decreased following the signing of the R-ARCSS in September 2018, localized and intercommunal conflict(s) adversely impacted on women and girls, as well as men and boys. As conflict at the local level escalated significantly between December 2018 and November 2019 and generated heightened insecurity and violence, it further created an environment for criminal activity in which sexual and genderbased violations thrived.212 51. Incidents of sexual and gender-based violence arising from localized conflict included rape and gang rape, forced nudity, abduction, sexualised torture and forced marriage. 213 Evidence collected by the Commission confirmed that perpetrators of sexual violence in the context of localised conflict were mainly cattle keepers and young men, some of whom belonged to organized militias operating under the command and control of both government and opposition forces.214 Local authorities have neither investigated nor prosecuted any cases reported. On-going violations 52. Conflict related sexual violence has been so prevalent and widespread that survivors have normalised their experiences of rape. One witness told the Commission: “This war has drained me […] I have been raped repeatedly. Sometimes we [women] stop talking about this, its normal. We go to get fire wood, we are raped, and we come back, what can we do? […] The third occasion [when I was raped] was this year, 2019, in September […]” 215 53. In a previously documented pattern, abductions targeting women on ethnic grounds continued during the reporting period. A witness described how two women she was traveling with while in search of firewood were abducted because of the ethnic community they belonged to. Both women were married with children and have not been seen since. 216 54. The Commission has documented the following non-exhaustive patterns of sexual and gender-based violations throughout the course of the conflict: (i) Sexual assault in conjunction with looting and intimidation of a target ethnic group; (ii) sexual assaults in conjunction with fighting in an area, usually including the rape of women in public before family members; (iii) sexual assault in detention centres of both women and men; (iv) assaults against women for the purpose of terrorizing and humiliating them usually as part of a targeted ethnic attack and a recognizable pattern of terror and subjugation; and (v) sexual enslavement of women. Harms suffered and consequences 55. During the reporting period, survivors of sexual and gender-based violence experienced physical bodily trauma, forced and unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections, psychological trauma, post-traumatic stress disorders, stigma and ostracization owing to negative societal perceptions of being a “rape victim” and suspicion of having contracted HIV.217 These consequences had adverse impact on the reproductive health of most survivors who described severe physical pain and bodily trauma experienced during rapes and immediately after. Many are living with long-term physical repercussions and severe psychological trauma resulting from the attacks. The Commission found that some survivors did not receive adequate medical attention or support following the violations they had endured.218 212 ERN 102940 - 102943. ERN 102664 - 102670; ERN 102660 - 102663; ERN 102627 - 102631; ERN 102680 - 102688; ERN 102609 - 102617; ERN 102632 - 102652. 214 ERN 102680 - 102688; ERN 102632 - 102652; ERN 102653 - 102659 215 ERN 103475 - 103480. 216 ERN 102587 - 102593. 217 ERN 103469 - 103474. 218 ERN 103495 - 103498. 213 37