Sexual Violence in Myanmar – June 2021

In February 2021, the Myanmar military staged a coup that has denied the results of the 2020 elections where the National League for Democracy (NLD) won the majority of seats. Since then, the Myanmar army (Tatmadaw) have been raging a deadly war on their own people, country and economy. As at 17 June – 137 days since the coup – 865 people have been killed (AAPP) including at least 51 children and 47 women (Women’s League of Burma).

Sexual Violence and gender-based atrocities are nothing new

Although the recent military coup will likely see further increase in the reports of sexual violence in Myanmar, sadly this is not a new situation facing women. The Tatmadaw have been committing gender-based violence atrocities on the women of Myanmar for decades. Women in ethnic areas have suffered heavily and sexual violence increased significantly towards Rohingya women from August 2017.

On International Women’s Day (IWD) 2018, KWO released a Statement highlighting the increase in numbers of Burma Army entering into Mutraw District in Karen State which cause hundreds of women and children to flee in fear. They also stood in solidarity with the Rohingya women who were experiencing high levels of sexual violence:

“Finally, we cannot ignore on this day of celebration the incredible abuse by the Burma Army of Roghingya women. The use of rape and murder by the Army is well documented. We have personally experienced rape as a weapon of war by the Burma Army We had hoped we were one of the last groups of women to suffer at their hands. Sadly, we were not. It is time to put an end to that abuse and refer General Min Aung Haling to the International Criminal Court. It is time to place meaningful sanctions on the Army until real peace, democracy and human rights are established. Their time is up. We have waited too long, our time is now. No women from Burma of any background should experience these attacks, not the Rohingya, not the Shan, not the Kachin and not the Karen. We should not suffer at the hands of our husbands and we should not suffer at the hands of the Burma Army.”

APHEDA Stands with the Women of Myanmar

Union Aid Abroad – APHEDA will continue to stand with the people of Myanmar – in particular women – who are fighting back against the military coup. On the Thai-Myanmar border, the Karen Women’s Organisation (KWO) are working around the clock to support thousands of displaced people in Karen State who are in desperate need of food and shelter. Radio Free Asia (RFA) reports that there are now nearly 230,000 displaced since the start of the coup – 60,000 of them in Karen State. You can help our partner organisations on the Thai-Myanmar border stay strong as they resist military oppression and deal with a humanitarian crisis. Donate today.

Here’s something we wrote back in early 2018 highlighting the situation facing Rohingya women (read full article):

Sexual Violence facing Myanmar’s Rohingya Women

Since August 2017, horrific accounts of sexual violence against Myanmar’s Rohingya women have been clearly documented by health workers and humanitarian organisations in refugee camps in Bangladesh. Each case describes the perpetrators as wearing uniforms indicating that almost all of them were military personnel.

While the situation facing Rohingya women has received recent media attention, the use of rape as a weapon of war in Myanmar is not new. Union Aid Abroad APHEDA’s long-time partner organisation, Karen Women’s Organisation (KWO), has been documenting prolific sexual violence in eastern Myanmar for many years (read ‘Shattering Silences’) and has more recently documented cases of Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) taking place in refugee camps along the Thai-Myanmar border (read ‘Salt in the Wound’). In 2002, the Shan Women’s Action Network (SWAN) published ‘License to Rape’ which details hundreds of cases of rape and sexual violence by Myanmar army troops in Shan State. This was followed by similar reports by women’s groups in Karen, Kachin, Mon, and Chin states, as well as national reports by the Women’s League of Burma, paving the way for UN agencies and experts to address this widespread and systematic problem.

Though the violence and impunity documented in these reports are similar, the recent violations targeting Rohingya women appear to be more organised, intensive, and brutal. However, the pattern of denying acts of sexual violence and further victimisation of survivors who speak out has been consistent across the country. The climate of sexual violence has also made women and girls more vulnerable to trafficking and other forms of exploitation. Rohingya woman and human rights activist, Wai Wai Nu will speak out on rape as a weapon of war in Myanmar at the Sydney Opera House as part of All About Women 2018.