Women survivors lead the fight against sexual violence in Myanmar

“With other survivors of conflict-related sexual violence, I can speak without fear, without shame. I can be a voice for the voiceless. I don’t feel alone. SEMA, the Global Survivors’ Network is a second home to me. This is where I started healing, and helped my sisters heal with me.”

Survivors’ testimonies, such as Sylvia’s, stood at the heart of a powerful event hosted by the Mukwege Foundation and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Bangkok on the International Day for the Elimination of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence (CRSV), on 19 June. The panel discussion, which included survivors of CRSV and members of civil society, notably Legal Action Worldwide (LAW), served to amplify the urgent needs and calls to action from those impacted by the escalating crisis in Myanmar.

“With our survivors’ network, we documented over 900 cases of conflict-related sexual violence in Myanmar, since the military coup. We submitted petitions to the Supreme Court in Naypyidaw, demanding justice. The Military is aware of the situation, but they don’t care”, said Moon Nay Li, from Women’s League of Burma, a local organization advocating for the rights of women since 1999.

Conflict-related sexual violence in Myanmar is a long-standing and deeply entrenched crisis that has sharply escalated in scale and brutality since the 2021 military coup, primarily committed by the military junta and other armed groups. Sexual violence is deliberately used as a tactic of war to intimidate, punish, and destabilize communities, leaving survivors with profound and long-lasting physical and psychological trauma. LAW previously documented the impact of Sexual Violence on Survivors during the 2017 “clearance operations” in Rakhine State, as part of its fight for justice for ethnic minorities. Pervasive stigma and fear of retaliation often silence survivors, preventing them from seeking support. Yet, survivors demonstrate enormous courage in their fight for accountability. Women-led, survivors’ networks are at the center of the fight for recognition and justice in Myanmar. Ma Cho’s (pseudonym) story is a prime example of this determination.

“After the coup, I had to flee to northern Thailand. There, I met so many other survivors of conflict-related sexual violence. In Myanmar, women can’t speak about these issues, but in Thailand, they could share their experiences freely. Lots of women thought about suicide. We want to get our dignity back and rebuild our lives. This is why survivors’ networks are so important. Only together, we can create a safe space to talk about what we lived and support each other to fight for our rights.”

As part of a multi-year project, the Mukwege Foundation, in collaboration with Legal Action Worldwide, ALTSEAN-Burma, and the Burma Research Institute, has been implementing a survivor-centered response to CRSV in Myanmar since 2022. This initiative involved extensive consultations with 118 Myanmar survivors across Bangladesh, Thailand, Myanmar, and India, from March 2023 to December 2024, to better understand their needs and their interest in forming survivor networks.

During the panel discussion, Antonia Mulvey (in the picture in the center), LAW’s Founder and Executive Director, highlighted LAW’s specific work regarding CRSV in Myanmar. She spoke about interviewing over 150 Rohingya women and girls who survived grave sexual violence in 2017, all of whom expressed a desire for justice and accountability. Mulvey shared that eight years on, significant progress is being made: “We have a number of ongoing landmark legal cases going all around the world, which I hope inspire all those who have had the courage to speak out, share their stories in front of the court and face their perpetrators “.

She cited the International Court of Justice case (The Gambia versus Myanmar), where victims testified against Aung San Suu Kyi in 2019. A full hearing is expected in 2026, where witnesses will provide evidence of sexual violence. Mulvey also mentioned submissions to the International Criminal Court on behalf of survivors and the Argentina case, which have both resulted in arrest warrants being issued. She emphasized the need for continued and holistic support for survivors and for governments, civil society, and the UN to work together to create change. Moreover, Mulvey emphasized the need for UN Member States to utilize universal jurisdiction avenues, to ensure that perpetrators of grave and horrific violations of international laws are investigated and prosecuted.

Survivors also face pervasive stigma, social exclusion, and economic hardship after having fled their country. Many, particularly in the Cox’s Bazar camps, are denied the right to work, to access education, and their freedom of movement is restricted, making them dependent on humanitarian assistance. At the same time, the world faces a dangerous backlash against women’s rights, marked by increasing attacks on women’s rights defenders and regressive laws and policies that threaten hard-won gains in gender equality and the protection of women and girls, especially in conflict-affected contexts.

The Mukwege Foundation has established three survivor networks with 79 members in Thailand and Bangladesh, and over 50 survivors have benefited from MHPSS sessions. The Foundation has also trained 86 professionals from Myanmar grassroots organizations on trauma-informed, survivor-centered care. Katrien Coppens, the Mukwege Foundation’s Executive Director (in the picture on the right), stated that “conflict-related sexual violence is not inevitable but preventable. We call upon Member States, UN entities, donors, and civil society partners to recommit to its elimination through resolute political leadership, meaningful survivor participation, adequate and sustained funding, and consistent support for international accountability mechanisms“.

Participants in the panel all recommend a comprehensive, survivor-focused approach, stressing several key elements:

• Safe access to full medical care for physical injuries, along with long-term mental health support. Professionals providing care must be trained to understand trauma and cultural sensitivities.
• Survivors need legal help to seek justice without fear, and safe housing combined with ways to earn a living.
• It’s vital to protect refugees from being forced back to unsafe places and to provide them with identity documents.
• Survivors must be actively involved in justice and reparations, and their own networks and efforts to reduce stigma need ongoing support.
• Survivors must be actively involved in all decisions that affect them.
• Flexible and long-term financial support to peer-to-peer survivor networks is essential.