Conflict-Related Sexual Violence in Myanmar

The prevention of Conflict-related Sexual Violence (CRSV) often relies on states to lead prevention and response mechanisms at the domestic level. However, state actors, such as the military, are frequently responsible for this violence. Can states play an effective role in preventing and responding to CRSV?

Conflict-Related Sexual Violence in Myanmar: The Role of the State provides a deeper understanding of the state's role as a prevention actor and explains why strategies aimed at preventing CRSV often fail and can sometimes even result in more harm.

Myanmar is a politically complex state that has experienced several decades of armed conflict, persistent military regimes, and a high prevalence of CRSV incidents committed by the state armed forces, the Tatmadaw. The book offers unique insights into CRSV prevention efforts in Myanmar, tracing the implementation process of the Joint Communiqué (JC), an agreement signed between the Myanmar government and the United Nations to effectively prevent and respond to CRSV.

This book is based on a comprehensive qualitative analysis of internal and public documents, and interviews with multiple stakeholders over a two-year period. It reveals how the gendered power structure and formal and informal practices of Myanmar’s state institutions constantly impeded the implementation process of the JC and offered a very limited political opportunity structure for local women’s CSOs to be involved in the JC implementation. A significant portion of the data in this book was collected in 2021 following the military coup in Myanmar. The author describes her experiences as a local researcher in solidarity with the local research participants experiencing the brutality of the military crackdown and conducting data collection in a particularly challenging context.

Phyu Phyu Oo is a research fellow at the ARC Centre of Excellence for The Elimination of Violence Against Women (CEVAW) at Griffith University. Her research interests include addressing pressing issues of sexual and gender-based violence in conflict and various shocks. She also has over 10 years of experience as a practitioner in development and humanitarian settings across the Asia-Pacific region.