Security Council Open Debate on Sexual Violence in Conflict, April 2018: Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence (Extract 1)

The forms of sexual violence I consistently heard about from survivors and witnesses included: rape, gang-rape by multiple soldiers, forced public nudity and humiliation, and sexual slavery in military captivity. One survivor described being held in captivity by members of the Myanmar Armed Forces (the Tatmadaw) for 45 days, during which time she was reportedly raped over and over again. Several survivors still bore visible scars, bruises, burns and bite marks, attesting to their ordeal. One woman showed me how she can no longer see out of her left eye, which was bitten by a solider during a vicious sexual assault.