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  • It is a myth that rape is an inevitable part of conflict. There is nothing inevitable about it.

  • It is a weapon of war aimed at civilians. It has nothing to do with sex, everything

  • to do with power. It is done to torture and humiliate innocent people and often very young

  • children. I have met survivors from Afghanistan to Somalia and they are just like us, with

  • one crucial difference. We live in safe countries with Doctors we can go to when we're hurt,

  • police we can turn to when we're wronged and institutions to protect us. They live in refugee

  • camps or bombed out streets in areas where there is no law, no protection and not even

  • the hope of justice. They struggle to keep their children safe and if they admit to being

  • raped, they are likely to face more violence and social rejection. Other survivors live

  • in countries where war is over, but the peace has brought no justice. And, as an International

  • community, we are responsible for that. We need to shatter that culture of impunity

  • and make justice the norm, not the exception, for these crimes. We need political will replicated

  • across the world and we need to treat this subject as a priority. We need to see real

  • commitment to go after the worst perpetrators, to fund proper protection for vulnerable people

  • and to step in and help the worst affected countries. We need all armies, peacekeeping

  • troops and police forces to have the prevention of sexual violence in conflict as part of

  • their training. More than 100 countries will be represented in this summit and we are asking

  • them to take these measures. But we really do need your help. This whole subject

  • has been taboo for far too long. War zone rape is a crime that thrives on silence and denial.

  • The stigma harms survivors and it causes feelings of shame and worthlessness. It feeds ignorance,

  • such as the notion that rape has anything to do with normal sexual impulses. But, most

  • of all, it allows the rapists to get away with it.

  • They feel above the law because the law rarely touches them

  • and society tolerates them. As Eleanor Roosevelt once said,

  • the destiny of human rights is in the hands of all our citizens and all our communities.

  • And this evil will continue ruining the lives of millions of people unless we

  • make this summit a turning point.

  • And we can.

  • We must send a message around the world that there is no disgrace

  • in being a survivor of sexual violence, that the shame is on the aggressor.

  • We must work together in new and unprecedented ways across borders and religions, bringing

  • governments and people together and tackling the problem from every possible angle.

  • And, by doing this, we can end the use of rape and sexual violence as a weapon of war once

  • and for all. We really can do it. So thank you so much for joining us today, for joining

  • us in this fight, and I wish us all a very productive summit.

It is a myth that rape is an inevitable part of conflict. There is nothing inevitable about it.

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