RAPE AS A WEAPON OF WAR IN ETHIOPIA

Violence against women during times of armed conflict is especially horrifying and has been a persistent and widespread practice over centuries. Sexual violence against women is considered a method of warfare to torture, injure, assume control, extract information, degrade, threaten, intimidate or punish. “The situation of women and adolescent girls in Tigray and the border areas of Amhara and Afar remains grave,” states UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem. “We’re seeing disturbing amounts of sexual violence, and thousands of women aren’t getting the health and safety services they need”, she said.