Letter Writing Guide – Rape and Sexual Violence in Conflict

Rape and Sexual Violence in Conflict

Widespread and systematic

The Burmese army uses rape and sexual violence against ethnic women across the country with impunity. This has been going on for decades, and has been highlighted in a number of reports produced by women’s organisations in Burma. UN reports have drawn upon this data to describe rape and sexual violence as widespread and systematic, and as a prevalent pattern of human rights violations in the country.

This letter writing guide gives an introduction to rape and sexual violence in conflict in Burma, and tells you how you can help by taking action.

Only the tip of the iceberg

In a recent report “If they had hope they would speak” by the Women’s League of Burma (WLB) in November 2014, the organisation concludes that over 100 cases of rape and sexual violence by the Burmese army have been documented since 2010. Due to the difficulty of collecting data, the shame and stigma attached to the crime, and the fear of the victims and their families, the cases documented are believed to be only the tip of the iceberg.

A recent example from early 2015 is the rape and murder of two Kachin teachers, 20 and 21 years old, in Northern Shan State, where the Burmese army has been attacking the Kachin people since 2011. The teachers were brutally raped by Burmese army soldiers that had recently come to their village. No one has yet been charged or put on trial for the crime.

Condoned at the highest level

The Burmese government has repeatedly denied the overwhelming evidence of sexual violence being perpetrated by its army, and if taking any action at all, blames individual soldiers. But the fact that the practice is spread all over Burma, that many rapes are gang-rapes and include higher ranking officers, as well as the fact that the numbers documented are believed to be a fraction of the cases, all point to this being a widespread practice within the Burmese army, condoned at the highest level.

The gang-rape of a grandmother

In May 2012, Ngwa Mi, a 48-year old grandmother with 12 children, was sheltering alone in a church near the Kachin-China border town of Pang Wa.

Burmese army soldiers found her and about 10 troops beat her with rifle butts, stabbed her with knives, stripped her naked and gang-raped her over a period of three days in the church.

Another villager, a man who had stayed behind to care for his paralyzed wife, had been captured and brought to the church, and was tortured and forced to watch.

After being taken to hospital, Ngwa Mi has been reunited with her family, but has become mentally unstable.

Inaction of the British government

The British government has led a global initiative to stop rape and sexual violence in conflict by setting up the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI) and by hosting a large conference in London on the issue in 2014. Although this is a welcome initiative, when it comes to Burma the British government seems to be reluctant to do anything that addresses the Burmese army’s – and hence the Burmese government’s – involvement in these crimes. British government funding for sexual violence projects is deliberately avoiding funding organisations that help victims of sexual violence by the Burmese army.

Instead, the British government has moved closer to the Burmese army, providing them with training that is costing the UK taxpayer around a quarter of a million pounds. This training is being provided without being conditional in any way on the Burmese army ending its use of rape and sexual violence.

An international investigation is needed

It is clear that the Burmese government will do nothing to stop the practice of rape and sexual violence by its army, and at the moment it is not under any real international pressure to do so. This needs to change. Therefore, an international investigation into rape and sexual violence by the Burmese army needs to be established, to help the victims, to address impunity, and to stop this heinous crime.

Campaigning works!

The British government has been very reluctant to include Burma at all in its work on sexual violence in conflict. It was only after continuous campaigning by Burma Campaign UK and our supporters that Burma was finally included in the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative. However, the British government does not support an international investigation into these crimes, or fund women’s organisations that work on rape and sexual violence by the Burmese army specifically.

That is why we need to keep campaigning!

Write to the British government and urge them to support an international investigation into rape and sexual violence by the Burmese army. Also urge them to provide support for women’s groups working with victims of rape and sexual violence by the Burmese army.

1. Rt Hon Baroness Anelay of St Johns DBE
   Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict
   King Charles Street
   London
   SW1A 2AH

   Baroness Anelay is a Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and was appointed by former Prime Minister David Cameron to be a special representative on preventing sexual violence

2. Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP
   Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
   King Charles Street
   London
   SW1A 2AH

   As Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Boris Johnson is responsible for British policy on Burma.

3. Rory Stewart MP OBE
   Minister of State for International Development
   22 Whitehall
   London
   SW1A 2EG

   Rory Stewart is the Minister of State for International Development with the responsibility for Burma.

4. Your MP
   House of Commons
   London
   SW1A 0AA

   Write to your MP and highlight your concerns about rape and sexual violence in Burma and urge your MP to put pressure on the British government to act.

You can find out who your local MP is here.

You can download draft letters here.

Or you could write your own letter. Key points that you could include:

• An international investigation into rape and sexual violence by the Burmese military against ethnic nationality women and girls should be established, and the British government should take the lead to make this happen.
• British aid should be used to provide adequate funding for women’s organisations that work with victims of rape by the Burmese army.
• The British government should stop training the Burmese army until the military agrees to deeper reforms and takes action to stop rape and sexual violence by soldiers, and to stop recruiting and using child soldiers.

Please send us copies of any replies that you receive.

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Other Letter Writing Guides
Letter Writing Guides on Political Prisoners and the Rohingya are available here.

A pdf version of this letter writing guide is available here.