Sexual and Gender-Based Violence

All definitions

A

  • Accountability

    Accountability dictates that persons, States or other entities must be answerable for their conduct, when that conduct is a violation of laws or rules or when it fails to meet expectations attached to a specific position or activity .

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  • Aggravating circumstances

    Aggravating circumstances are factors considered by judges when determining the sentence for a person found guilty of a given crime. These factors add to the severity of the crime or the context in which it was committed, and may therefore justify the imposition of a more severe sentence.

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  • Armed conflict

    Despite clear prohibitions under international law, sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) is frequently used as a deliberate tool in conflict and continues to be widespread in armed conflicts.

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  • Asylum and Refugee rights

    International refugee law and the right to asylum are grounded in the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (1951) and its 1967 Protocol . Together these constitute the primary global legal framework governing the protection of individuals who "owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, [are] outside the country of [their] nationality and [are] unable or, owing to such fear, [are] unwilling to avail [themselves] of the protection of that country" .

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C

  • Confidentiality

    Survivors no longer want to give out information because confidentiality has not been followed. We live in a society with insecurity, criminality, and many people choose to remain silent because they lived through terrible experiences." – Tatymuk, survivor from DRC .

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  • Crimes against humanity

    The term "crimes against humanity" was first used internationally in the Declaration of France, Great Britain and Russia, made on the 29th of May 1915, to describe the crimes committed against Armenians by the Ottoman government .

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  • Children’s rights

    Children are among those most vulnerable to Sexual violence (including conflict-related sexual violence) and Gender-based violence (SGBV) and crimes, particularly sexual abuse and exploitation, child marriage, trafficking, conflict-related sexual violence, technology-facilitated abuse, forced labour, recruitment into armed forces and groups, and denial of access to education and healthcare, among other harms.

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  • Crimes against children

    Crimes against children are defined as "any crime committed against children [that] violates their rights," including the "right to life, bodily integrity and liberty" and the "right of protection from violence, abuse, exploitation or neglect".

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D

  • Domestic violence

    Domestic violence is defined as all acts of physical, sexual, psychological, emotional, verbal, financial or administrative violence that occur within the family or domestic unit .

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  • “Do no Harm” principle

    Do No Harm" principle is a key ethical principle and an obligation that guides all humanitarian, human rights and litigation work. It requires practitioners to identify and anticipate the possible negative effects of their actions (including safety risks, trauma, tensions, stigmatisation, increased vulnerability), particularly for survivors/victims, witnesses and affected populations and communities, and to put measures in place to prevent or minimise such harm .

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  • Due diligence

    Obligations of States Under international law, the principle of due diligence requires states to take all necessary measures to prevent, protect against and punish (regardless of the status of those responsible) the perpetration of sexual and gender-based violence, and to provide redress and reparation to victims.

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  • Documentation

    Documentation refers to the gathering, recording and preservation of information about incidents, patterns and impacts of violations and crimes, including sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), as well as information about and from survivors, witnesses and perpetrators.

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  • Displacement

    Displacement refers to "the movement of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of or in order to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights or natural or human-made disasters" .

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  • Detention and deprivation of liberty

    Deprivation of liberty refers to "any form of detention or imprisonment or the placement of a person in a public or private custodial setting which that person is not permitted to leave at will by order of any judicial, administrative or other authority" .

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E

  • Enforced prostitution

    or forced) prostitution is a form of sexual violence and human trafficking and may amount to "modern slavery" . It is the act of forcing a person to engage in one or more acts of a sexual nature with another person, with the intent to obtain pecuniary or other advantages (for instance, in exchange for food, housing, drugs or other advantages), or under threat of exposing personal information or material that would threaten or stigmatise the person forced into prostitution .

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  • Enforced sterilisation

    Enforced sterilisation is the act of permanently depriving a person of her/his reproductive capacity without their prior, full, free and informed consent, or when it is not required or justified by medical necessity .

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  • Evidence (burden of proof)

    Key international criminal law instruments provide that some evidence should not be admissible in cases involving sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) due to their discriminatory, victimising, stigmatising and, importantly, irrelevant nature.

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  • Economic/financial violence

    Economic and/or financial violence can be used interchangeably to describe a form of violence "which causes economic harm to an individual" . It consists of acts, behaviours and systems that control a person's ability to "acquire, use, and maintain economic resources" .

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F

  • Forced Abortion

    Forced abortion is the crime of intentionally terminating or orchestrating the termination of a pregnancy through any procedure without the prior, full, free and informed consent of the pregnant person .

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  • Femicide/Feminicide

    or feminicide , is the crime of intentionally killing women because they are women or identify as such . Broader definitions extend the concept to encompass all killings of women and girls , including unintentional or indirect killings, "as exemplified by some instances of domestic violence which could result in the death of women" .

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  • Forced contraception

    Contraception refers to measures taken to prevent pregnancies, either permanently (for example, sterilisation) or temporarily (through reversible methods such as oral contraceptives; implants; injections, diaphragms or intrauterine devices) .

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  • Forced nudity

    Forced nudity refers to the act of forcing another person to undress partially or completely, including to perform different sorts of movements while in a state of nudity .

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  • Forced pregnancy

    Forced pregnancy is a form of Reproductive violence and, more broadly, Gender-based violence (GBV). In international criminal law, under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (Rome Statute), forced pregnancy is defined as "unlawful confinement of a woman forcibly made pregnant, with the intent of affecting the ethnic composition of any population or carrying out other grave violations of international law" .

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  • Forced Marriage

    early and forced marriages (CEFM) Forced marriage occurs when at least one of the parties has not given full, free, and genuine consent to this legal union or is unable to end it, "including as a result of duress or intense social or family pressure" .

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  • Forced exposure to sexual violence

    Forced exposure to sexual violence refers to a form of violence without direct physical contact, involving forcing a person, without that person's consent, to witness acts or content of sexual violence.

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G

  • Gender

    which is a biological and physiological characteristic, gender is a social construct based on the "roles, behaviours, activities, and attributes assigned to women and men, and to girls and boys" .

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  • Gender-based violence

    Gender-based violence refers to violence perpetrated against a person because of their Gender, sex and/or sexual orientation, whether actual or perceived by the perpetrator, or violence that disproportionately affects persons of a particular gender .

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  • Genital mutilation

    Genital mutilation is a form of amputation or physical injury to the genital organs . Although it affects women disproportionately (female genital mutilation), men and boys are also affected (forced male circumcision).

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  • Genocide

    Genocide is an "international crime". Its prohibition is enshrined in both treaty law and customary international law and is regarded as a peremptory norm of jus cogens .

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  • Gender apartheid

    Gender apartheid refers to an institutionalised system of oppression and domination based on gender, grounded in policies, practices and norms designed to maintain the subordination of certain gender group(s) to other gender group(s).

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  • Gender persecution

    Gender persecution" refers to "the deliberate, systematic, and severe denial of fundamental human rights to individuals or entire groups, on the basis of gender (including identity, expression, sexual orientation) or the combination of gender plus other status (race, religion, ethnicity, disability, migration status etc.)" .

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  • Gender Equality and Gender Justice

    GENDER EQUALITY Gender equality is, first and foremost, a human right, and refers to the equal "rights, responsibilities and opportunities" of all genders .

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H

  • Harmful gender norms, biases, prejudices, myths and stereotypes

    Harmful gender norms, biases, prejudices, myths and stereotypes are all manifestations of gender-based discrimination. Although they are closely linked and all contribute to gender inequality, these concepts refer to distinct realities.

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  • Harmful practices contrary to international law

    Harmful practices contrary to international law, are defined as "persistent practices and forms of behaviour that are grounded in discrimination on the basis of, among other things, sex, gender and age, in addition to multiple and/or intersecting forms of discrimination that often involve violence and cause physical and/or psychological harm or suffering.

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  • Hate crime

    Hate crimes are "criminal acts motivated by bias or prejudice towards particular groups of people" based on actual or perceived race, ethnicity, language, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, gender or any other "fundamental characteristic".

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  • Humanitarian setting/context

    A humanitarian setting is one in which a significant population faces acute threats to health, safety, security or wellbeing as a result of armed conflict, natural disaster, disease outbreak, or complex emergencies combining multiple crisis drivers, and where external, multi-sectoral response is required to provide assistance and resources .

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I

  • Inhumane acts & cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and treatment

    Inhumane acts and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment are prohibited under customary law as well as under numerous treaty instruments, notably the 1984 Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (Convention against Torture).

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  • Impunity

    or entities) who may be responsible for committing, contributing to or failing to prevent or punish a crime or a violation of a law or a rule – whether criminal, civil, administrative, disciplinary, national or international – must be held to account .

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  • International Criminal Law

    International criminal law (ICL) is a branch of international law that establishes the criminal responsibility of individuals for Crimes against humanity, War crimes, Genocide and the crime of aggression .

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  • International Humanitarian Law

    Also known as "the law of war" or "the law of armed conflict", international humanitarian law (IHL) is a branch of international law that regulates the use of force in armed conflicts by imposing a set of rules that all parties to the conflict must respect .

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  • Intersectionality

    The concept of intersectionality was first brought to prominence by the work of US professor and legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989, based on her analysis of the discrimination faced by African American women.

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  • Investigation

    In the context of judicial proceedings, investigation refers to the formal process of gathering, preserving and analysing evidence in support of criminal prosecution or other judicial accountability processes.

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  • International human rights law

    International human rights law refers to the body of norms designed to protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of all human beings, regardless of their sex, gender, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion or other characteristics.

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L

  • Liability (modes of)

    Under international criminal law, individuals can be held accountable for their own criminal conduct as well as for crimes committed by their subordinates or persons placed under their control .

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O

  • Objectivity, impartiality and independence

    impartiality and independence, which are closely linked to the principle of Due diligence, are essential guiding principles of any ethical intervention .

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  • Organised crime

    Organised crime" refers to the activities of "a structured group of three or more persons, existing for a period of time and acting in concert with the aim of committing one or more serious crimes or offences… in order to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit" .

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  • Occupation

    Under international humanitarian law, a territory is considered occupied "when it is actually placed under the authority of the hostile army. The occupation extends only to the territory where such authority has been established and can be exercised." Under occupation law, the occupying power does not acquire sovereignty over the occupied territory and is bound by obligations under both International Humanitarian Law and International human rights law .

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  • Obstetric violence

    Obstetric violence refers to "violence experienced by women during facility-based childbirth" . More specifically, it encompasses "abuse of pregnant people seeking sexual and reproductive health services and information, including maternal health care – antenatal care, intrapartum care, and post-natal care, gynecological examinations, abortion and post-abortion care, fertility treatments, and contraception.

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P

  • Protective measures (for victims and witnesses)

    Protective measures are steps taken to protect victims and witnesses, and, where required, their families, from harm, including intimidation, abuse, threats, violence and reprisals in response to proceedings, whether judicial (such as criminal trials) or quasi-judicial (such as fact-finding missions, missions of inquiry, human rights cases submitted to quasi-judicial mechanisms) .

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R

  • Revictimisation

    The way they came at me undid the psychological sessions that I had done. They way they asked questions: 'Why didn't you escape?

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  • Rape

    Rape is the most widely recognised and prevalent form of sexual violence, regardless of context, society or region. It constitutes a form of gender-based discrimination and violence, as well as a serious violation of fundamental human rights, in particular the right to physical and sexual autonomy and integrity.

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  • Redress (Remedy; Reparation)

    The right to redress for victims of human rights violations, including sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), is firmly enshrined in international law .

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  • Reproductive rights

    Reproductive rights, also known as "sexual and reproductive rights", are human rights that recognise and guarantee everyone the freedom to make decisions regarding reproduction and to access sexual and reproductive health services .

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  • Right to a fair trial

    The right to a fair trial is a universal fundamental principle according to which "In the determination of any criminal charge against [her/]him, or of [her/]his rights and obligations in a suit at law, everyone shall be entitled to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal established by law" .

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  • Reproductive violence

    Reproductive violence is a form of Gender-based violence , and, in certain circumstances, Sexual violence (including conflict-related sexual violence) and Obstetric violence.

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S

  • Sexual Exploitation

    Sexual exploitation is defined as any "actual or attempted abuse of position of vulnerability, differential power or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another" .

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  • Survivor

    The terms "victims" and "survivors" are often used interchangeably but may also apply in different contexts or serve different purposes. The term Victim is commonly used in legal contexts, for example in judicial proceedings, to grant a specific status that confers rights under the law.

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  • Slavery and sexual slavery

    Slavery is the status or condition of a person over whom any or all of the powers attaching to the right of ownership are exercised." Slavery is a violation of human rights, the prohibition of which is enshrined in various international and regional treaties .

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  • SOGI (sexual orientation and gender identity) rights

    The human rights of all individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI), must be respected . those whose sexual orientation or gender identity diverges from the dominant norms of their society or region (for example, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer and other LGBTIQA+ people) face widespread violations of their fundamental rights, violence and discrimination .

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  • Survivor-/Victim Centred Approach

    A survivor/victim-centred approach ensures that any response to violence is designed and implemented by prioritising the needs, choices, safety, well-being and autonomy of survivors/victims, thereby enabling them to play an active and participatory role .

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  • Safety and Security (personal safety and security and data security)

    Safety and security in the context of Sexual violence (including conflict-related sexual violence) and Gender-based violence (SGBV) encompasses the protection of survivors/victims, as well as those involved in information gathering and the secure handling of information.

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  • Slave trade

    The slave trade is defined as "all acts involved in the capture, acquisition or disposal of a person with intent to reduce him [or her] to slavery; all acts involved in the acquisition of a slave with a view to selling or exchanging him [or her]; all acts of disposal by sale or exchange of a slave acquired with a view to being sold or exchanged, and, in general, every act of trade or transport in slaves" .

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T

  • Trauma-informed approach

    Adopting a trauma-informed approach is an essential component of ethical documentation, a prerequisite of any Survivor-/Victim Centred Approach. A trauma-informed approach is one that is aware of, and responsive to, trauma and its impacts on individuals, their families, and their communities." Such an approach involves, in particular: "Understand[ing] the nature and impact of trauma on survivors of sexual violence Adequately address[ing] any trauma-related needs before, during, and after interview[s] […] Put[ting] in place strategies to mitigate the possibility of re-traumatization Understand[ing] how trauma can affect… memory and testimony…" A trauma-informed approach also recognises that survivors/victims may have experienced traumatic events linked to crimes, particularly of a sexual or gender-based nature, which may affect their physical, emotional and mental health, well-being and behaviours .

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  • Torture

    Torture is the intentional infliction of severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, on an individual for a specific purpose, “by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity”.

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  • Trafficking (human/sex)

    Human trafficking, or "trafficking in persons", is defined as "the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation" .

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  • Transitional justice

    Transitional justice is a process that addresses large-scale or systematic human rights violations in countries emerging from conflict or repression, to redress legacies of violations and abuses .

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  • Trauma, including inter- and transgenerational trauma

    The term "trauma" refers to the physical or psychological harm resulting from exposure to a distressing or disturbing event, sometimes described as a "traumatic experience" .

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  • Technology-facilitated gender based violence

    Technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV, also referred to as "digital violence", "cyberviolence", "violence in digital contexts", etc.) refers to "any act that is committed, assisted, aggravated or amplified by the use of information communication technologies or other digital tools, that results in or is likely to result in physical, sexual, psychological, social, political or economic harm, or other infringements of rights and freedoms" .

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U

  • Universal jurisdiction

    Universal jurisdiction allows – and in some cases obliges – States to exercise their jurisdiction over serious international crimes, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, torture, enforced disappearance and extrajudicial executions , irrespective of where the crimes were committed and the nationalities of the perpetrator(s) or the victim(s) .

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V

  • Victim

    Within human rights and criminal justice systems, the term "victim" refers to persons who have suffered harm, individually or collectively, as a result of violation(s) of their human rights .

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  • Victim-blaming

    Victim blaming refers to the practice of attributing, wholly or in part, responsibility for violence suffered to the victim/survivor. This all-too-common phenomenon is rooted in deeply entrenched stereotypes, prejudices, inequalities and discriminatory social norms, particularly regarding gender and sexuality .

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  • Vicarious/secondary trauma

    Commonly used interchangeably, vicarious and secondary trauma refer to the harm that can be caused "to those directly or indirectly engaging with survivors (including interpreters and consultants), as well as to analysts, translators, managers, and others" when gathering and using information on traumatic material, such as cases of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) .

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W

  • War crimes

    War crimes are serious violations of international humanitarian law – whether treaty-based or customary – committed in both international and non-international armed conflict .

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  • Women’s rights

    Women's rights encompass all human rights and are therefore protected by a wide range of international instruments . The struggle to protect women's rights aims to enable women to enjoy their fundamental rights without discrimination.

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Key terms and concepts

Foundational definitions of the core concepts underpinning the glossary.

Documentation | Domestic violence | Economic/financial violence | Gender | Gender Equality and Gender Justice | Gender-based violence | Intersectionality | Obstetric violence | Reproductive violence | Sexual violence (including conflict-related sexual violence) | Survivor | Trauma, including inter- and transgenerational trauma | Vicarious/secondary trauma

High-risk contexts and environments

The specific settings, including armed conflict, humanitarian crises, displacement, occupation, and detention, in which the risk of sexual and gender-based violence is particularly heightened.

Armed conflict | Detention and deprivation of liberty | Displacement | Humanitarian setting/context | Occupation | Organised crime | Harmful gender norms, biases, prejudices, myths and stereotypes

Legal and Normative Frameworks

An overview of the international and regional legal frameworks that prohibit sexual and gender-based violence and establish states’ obligations to prevent, investigate, prosecute, and provide redress for such violations.

Asylum and Refugee rights | Children’s rights | International Criminal Law | International human rights law | International Humanitarian Law | Reproductive rights | SOGI (sexual orientation and gender identity) rights | Women’s rights

International Crimes and Human Rights Violations

The specific acts that constitute sexual and gender-based crimes and violations, covering a broad spectrum of conduct recognised across international and regional legal frameworks as serious breaches of human rights and dignity.

Crimes against humanity | Crimes against children | Enforced sterilisation | Enforced prostitution | Femicide/Feminicide | Forced Abortion | Forced contraception | Forced exposure to sexual violence | Forced Marriage | Forced nudity | Forced pregnancy | Genocide | Gender apartheid | Gender persecution | Genital mutilation | Harmful practices contrary to international law | Hate crime | Inhumane acts & cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and treatment | Rape | Sexual Exploitation | Slavery and sexual slavery | Slave trade | Technology-facilitated gender based violence | Trafficking (human/sex) | Torture | War crimes

Core Principles for Ethical Documentation

The ethical and operational principles that should guide all work with survivors and victims of sexual and gender-based violence.

Confidentiality | Documentation | “Do no Harm” principle | Due diligence | Informed consent | Objectivity, impartiality and independence | Principle of non-discrimination | Revictimisation | Safety and Security (personal safety and security and data security) | Survivor-/Victim Centred Approach | Trauma-informed approach

Legal Proceedings

The legal tools and mechanisms available to hold perpetrators of sexual and gender-based violence accountable, covering a range of procedural, evidentiary, and substantive questions that arise in the pursuit of justice and reparation for survivors.

Accountability | Aggravating circumstances | Evidence (burden of proof) | Impunity | Investigation | Liability (modes of) | Protective measures (for victims and witnesses) | Redress (Remedy; Reparation) | Right to a fair trial | Transitional justice | Universal jurisdiction | Victim-blaming