Women
Women in Conflict Situations
Now they're speaking out, documenting abuses, violations and brutalities
At a regional meeting on violence against women held in Fiji participants raised the issue of violations against women during armed conflict. One participant gave a testimony of witnessing a woman being raped by three men during a conflict situation in one of the Pacific countries.
In World War Two, the Japanese army forcibly recruited 80,000 to 200,000 women-- 80% of whom were believed to be Korean women -- as comfort women who became sexual labourers for the Japanese troops in military brothels found throughout Asia/Pacific regions occupied by Japanese forces.
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There are also cases of abuse of women in the Pacific by Japanese soldiers, inflicted upon the Senso and Sepik women in Papua New Guinea. It is possible this extended to other countries in the region as well. Sabet Cox, a Papua New Guinea non-government organisation worker. told the meeting that it took Korean women 50 years to open up about crimes they suffered during the war. But women in Papua New Guinea and other Pacific countries have never come out with stories of atrocities they suffered. The Pacific horror stories of war crimes against women have never been documented. The meeting heard that--
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* In Fiji, the impact of both 1987 and 2000 coup on women was devastating. Edwina Kotoisuva, deputy coordinator of the Fiji Women's Crisis Centre, said women were degraded. They were subjected to what they knew to be a taboo for other cultures such as making Indian women sit on their father-in-laws lap. Sexual assaults were not only occurring between races but within parliamentary complex where supporters of the coup were gathered together.
* Other participants said that in many of their countries, tribal conflicts have also contributed to the overall reduction of human rights, family and communal units breaking apart and cruel treatment of women, which included murder, sexual and physical violation, humiliation and degradation.
* Reports say that women have been beaten and killed during these fights for not having sex with the armed men.
* Conflicts over the past two years in the Solomon Islands have seen a restriction on women's movement and an increase in marriage breakdowns. Women would not seek help and remained silent over their treatment for fear of further abuse. There were also reports of women being raped and assaulted. For all the work done by women in trying to unite the people and preserving peace, no women were represented at the final Solomon Islands Peace negotiations.
* In some countries, villages and houses were burnt down and women were raped and subjected to other forms of abuse. They suffered degradation by being forced to touch their own brothers or made to stay out in the sun. The reasons for the silence of Pacific women on these issues are many. They include fear of retribution, as there are no provisions for protection of witnesses or victims who are willing to give their testimonies. A number of women remained in close proximity with the perpetrators of the crimes.
Pacific traditions, religion and customs also prevented women from speaking out. In Bougainville, where peace negotiations are still underway, women remained silent. They believe that to speak out would jeopardise the peace process.
The international community has some provisions to outlaw and punish atrocities committed during armed conflicts through the development of the international humanitarian law. However, gender-based violence has not been prioritised.
But in Rwanda, the International Criminal Tribunal is leading the way for others to follow. It recognises, charges and prosecutes people committing crimes (including sexual violations) against women.
Now it is the Pacific's turn to learn from the precedence set.
