On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
Today, around the world an annual call is renewed to end the horrific reality of violence against women. It is unacceptable, not least in the 21st century that women and girls in every corner of the globe continue to face the prospect of violence.
Among the chilling range of violence committed against them are sexual and gender-based crimes in the context of war and conflict. Girls taken from their homes, from their schools, raped, used as sex slaves, forced to kill and die, forced to live a life of misery and despair under the imminent shadow and grip of violence. Sexual and gender-based crimes, beyond their significant and irreversible harm to individual lives, can also have devastating impact on communities and affect entire generations.
The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (“ICC” or “The Court”) is an important legal instrument through which to address violence perpetrated against women and girls during war and conflict. As Prosecutor of the ICC, I, along with my team at the Office, remain committed to continue to apply the full force of the law to address sexual and gender-based crimes and crimes against children in accordance with the Rome Statute.
Abominable acts of violence against women must cease. Through the law, we must aim to correct behaviours, cultivate norms and reverse the cycle of violence against women.
Source: Office of the Prosecutor
