The decision taken by the Joint Defence Board (JDB) to launch a joint Conflict-Related Sexual Violence (CRSV) Committee on Tuesday is a welcoming step taken forward by the military to fight sexual violence.
This is a very good step that needs to be supported by the public to end the rampant sexual abuse in the country. There have been several attempts and awareness campaigns by human rights activists and Non-Governmental Organisations, to end sexual violence in the country. This seems to have had little impact.
The Conflict-Related Sexual Violence committee should ensure that the perpetrators of Sexual Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) are punished. There should be no more refereeing of sexual abuses committed against women by members of the military to “men in uniforms.”
These phrases have been so widely used that they have even made some misbehaving officers in the military continue abusing women and girls under their cover. They have taken advantage of the use of the words “men in uniform” as a shield to protect themselves from being investigated.
Though not all sexual abuses are committed by the military, most of the accusations always talk about those in the military, and mostly they are merely referred to as “men in uniform.”
However, there has been some significant effort by the SSPDF in the past three years. Through its military court, it has sentenced several of its officers to prison for gender-based violence. Although a few have been prosecuted in a court of law, the majority of them remain at large and hide under the phrases of “men in uniform”, which to some extent has encouraged others to participate in the same vices since they may not be identified.
The CRSV committee should work hard by coordinating with all the units or divisions to ensure no soldier abuses women or girls and go to hide among the colleagues. They should be picked out and brought to court to deliver justice to the victims.
There is also a need to create awareness among the military about sexual gender-based violence as they constitute the majority of the perpetrators of sexual abuse.
There is a need to change the approach because most of the time, junior officers are not involved in sexual gender-based violence.
Instead of training the military commanders or generals, they should now start inviting those youthful officers who are often involved in committing sexual abuses for training. The JBD, with development partners, should train those junior officers about the impact of sexual gender-based violence and the penalties.