Tackling Sexual Violence in Somalia: Prevention and Protection

Executive summary

This report is jointly published by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). The report provides a fact-based analysis of progress and obstacles in the prevention and response to conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2022.

The report covers eight areas. The first is the context in which the violations reported occurred, which is one of a non-international armed conflict and a protracted humanitarian crisis. The second area covers the trends and patterns of CRSV. Alleged perpetrators are covered in the third section, while the fourth identifies the types of incidents and violations reported and the profile of the survivors. The fifth section covers service provision and the challenges that survivors face. This is followed by a discussion of Somalia’s legal framework on the protection of women and girls as well as legal reform efforts. The seventh area examines good practices for addressing the consequences of sexual violence and the lessons that can be drawn from there. The report concludes with recommendations to the Somali national authorities and the international community.

The context in which the violations described in the report occur is a non-international armed conflict that opposes the Federal Government of Somalia, supported by the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) and other international forces and pro-government militias, on the one side and Al-Shabaab on the other.
The armed conflict continuesin the context of the worst drought recorded in the past 40 years. This has compounded the already dire humanitarian situation faced by the people in Somalia, who are also victims of violations and abuses of their human rights and violations of international humanitarian law that continue to be perpetrated by all parties to the conflict, with Al-Shabaab being the identified single perpetrator responsible for the highest number of violations.

The trends and patterns highlighted in the report show that several factors work as drivers for sexual violence with displaced women and girls being the most exposed.

These include structural gender inequalities, insecurity, and cyclical humanitarian crises caused by climate shocks. UNSOM data, mainly gathered through human rights officers deployed in some areas of the country, are reinforced by information gathered through other data collection mechanisms implemented by United Nations agencies, funds and programmes working alongside service providers operating in areas of displacement and conflict.

The report identifies unidentified armed men as the main perpetrator of CRSV with Al-Shabaab as the second main perpetrator. Unidentified armed men are a category of perpetrators who either have a weapon, a gun or a knife or machete, who sometimes will be wearing military-type attire. Survivors cannot identify which party to the conflict these perpetrators belong to. This is due to several factors, which include the failure to recognize the military-type attire, the failure to recall what the perpetrator was wearing at the time of the attack or fear of naming a perpetrator, resulting in the perpetrator falling into this category. Other perpetrators are the Somali National Army (and its allied clan militia), the Somali Police Force (and its allied clan militia) and the Puntland Forces.

The most frequent CRSV incidents are rape, attempted rape and gang rape (rape committed by two or more men). The third highest category isincidents attributed to state security forces1 which are often perpetrated in the context of their deployment to counter Al-Shabaab or during military operations to eradicate the group.

Service provision for CRSV survivors remains low, with limited specialized services available for timely, confidential and quality assistance. Security concerns and accessibility to areas under the control of Al-Shabaab is a significant hindrance to support for survivors.

The report finds that Somalia’s legal framework does not provide sufficient protection for all persons against sexual violence. The report identifies the three sources of domestic law: customary, Sharia Law and statute law, and analyzes their compatibility with Somalia’s international human rights obligations, including the way they are implemented.