Vice President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE PA), Irene Charalambides, was the keynote speaker in a discussion on ending sexual violence in conflict zones at the Women Political Leaders Summit that takes place in Athens.
According to a press release by the House of Representatives, the Cypriot MP condemned the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and stated that it is reinforced by the fact that perpetrators know that the victims will hesitate to report the crime due to the fear of stigmatization and rejection.
She recalled that women in Cyprus suffered sexual violence during the Turkish invasion in the summer of 1974 and said that even today, as a result of multiple ongoing conflicts in Nagorno-Karabakh, Ukraine and the Middle East, women and girls are disproportionately affected by ongoing violence, bloodshed and displacement.
Moreover, she expressed concern over the fact that displaced women and girls face increased risk of being expl
oited by trafficking networks.
Concluding, she pointed out that preventing and combating sexual violence requires targeted policies as well as political will, in order to build a system where women will be respected in war as well as in peace.
Source: Cyprus News Agency