SEMA member Tatiana Mukanire from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) delivered a powerful and inspiring speech during the president’s session at the #FIGO2023 Congress, where she shared the stage with Dr. Denis Mukwege, Katrien Coppens, Executive Director of the Mukwege Foundation, Dr. Jeanne Conry, FIGO President, and other high-level speakers. Together, they highlighted the […]

On the 9th International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict on June 19, 2023 SEMA members have participated in many raising-awareness activities.    SEMA’s social media campaign on the Survivors’ Call to Action Last year, SEMA issued its Call to Action demanding concrete action from States in the areas of prevention, response, […]

    On behalf of the SEMA Network, SEMA Member Leesa Gazi attended a UK parliamentary reception in London on June 19th, 2023. She joined survivors and allies, including Katrien Coppens, Executive Director of the Mukwege Foundation, highlighting SEMA’s Call to Action which urges States to take action, prevent CRSV and bring perpetrators to justice.  […]

SEMA member Mirsada gave a presentation on 12 May 2023 at Roma Tre University, as part of the Women, Gender, and Conflicts module – organised by Stop Rape Italia. Mirsada Tursunović is a survivor of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) during the Bosnian War in the 1990s. It took her 17 years to break the silence about […]

On 22 September 2022, the Global Survivors Fund and its partners organised a high-level side event to the 77th Session of the UN General Assembly on ‘Co-creating Reparations with Survivors of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence: Lessons Learned and Emerging Best Practice’. Several members of the SEMA Network participated in this event. Among them was Jaqueline Mutere, […]

Since 2015, June 19th is dedicated to honouring victims and survivors of wartime sexual violence. To mark this important date, the European Council organised an expert panel,  Women in Conflicts, engaging Grace Acan – a SEMA member from Uganda – as one of the key experts. Grace was joined by Dr Denis Mukwege, Nadia Murad, Olena Zelenska (the First Lady of Ukraine), Charles Michel (President of the European Council), and other speakers to discuss the consequences of wartime sexual violence. The panel spoke […]

After more than two years of travel restrictions, members of the SEMA Network were finally able to reunite in Amersfoort, the Netherlands, at the start of June. We were invited by the Mukwege Foundation to co-create a space to demand justice and reparations for victims of sexual violence in conflict. During the retreat we formulated joint strategies for the future, engaged in […]

As members of SEMA, the Global Network of Victims and Survivors to End Wartime Sexual Violence, we are shocked to hear the many reports of sexual violence being used as a weapon of war on a daily basis in Tigray, Ethiopia. The situation in Tigray is deeply disturbing, with many horrific testimonies of women being […]

On June 19, which is the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, the Colosseum in Rome was the background for an action to illuminate consciences and pay tribute to all survivors who have experienced wartime sexual violence. As part of the “Zero dignity in violence” campaign launched by Stop Rape Italia,  four […]