Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) refers to any act that is perpetrated against a person’s will and is based on gender norms and unequal power relationships.
It encompasses threats of violence and coercion. It can be physical, emotional, psychological, or sexual in nature, and can take the form of a denial of resources or access to services. It inflicts harm on women, girls, men and boys.
SGBV is a violation of human rights. It denies the human dignity of the individual and hurts human development.
SGBV is largely rooted in individual attitudes that condone violence within the family, the community and the State. SGBV has been both a cause of forced displacement and a terrible consequence of the breakdown of family and community structures that accompanies displacement.
As UNHCR, we are mandated to provide international protection to refugees. We, together with States, thus share the responsibility for ensuring that refugees are protected against sexual and gender-based violence.
UNHCR is committed to ending all forms of SGBV by working to prevent SGBV before it happens and responding to the needs of all survivors, who can be women and girls, as well as men and boys. We do this by working alongside displaced communities and with different partners across multiple sectors.
UNHCR ‘s work in Thailand
In the nine temporary shelters on the Thai-Myanmar border, UNHCR conducts Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) prevention activities targeting different groups including men and boys, aimed at creating behavior change. In 2019, over 17,000 individuals were reached through awareness raising activities on SGBV
prevention and response. UNHCR also conducts regular protection monitoring and facilitates access to reporting channels for SGBV survivors and other serious protection cases.
In addition, we provide protection counseling to survivors of sexual violence and facilitate their access to justice. We are also actively involved in supporting community-based mechanisms for SGBV prevention and response,
For urban refugees and asylum-seekers, through our partner, we provide medical and psychosocial care for SGBV survivors. A SGBV emergency telephone hotline is active 7 days a week.