Silenced and Forgotten: Survivors of Nepal's Conflict-Era Sexual Violence

Nepal’s decade-long civil war between government forces and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) (CPN-M) claimed more than 13,000 lives and left at least 1,300 people missing. Until the 2006 peace agreement both government security forces and the Maoists were responsible for grave human rights abuses, including unlawful killings, torture, and enforced disappearances. What has remained largely undisclosed is the sexual violence that occurred during the conflict. With the assistance of Advocacy Forum, a Kathmandu-based human rights group, Human Rights Watch researchers met with dozens of women, a few of whom described rape and sexual assault that occurred when they were still children, including one who was 12-years-old at the time.