Why we need to break the silence around rape and violence against women | Waqar Azmi | Opinion
Today marks the 22nd anniversary of the worst atrocity on European soil since the second world war, the genocide in Srebrenica. This year, thousands will gather at more than 400 events in the UK to commemorate those who were murdered in the genocide and to reflect on how hatred is affecting our communities here in the UK and what we can do to prevent this.
Last year reminded us that the UK cannot afford to become complacent about community cohesion, with some sections of the media and certain political figures stirring up hatred in our communities and a 41% increase in reported hate crime in the aftermath of the EU referendum. A disproportionate level of this hate crime has been targeted at women. At the same time, reported violence against women in the UK has reached an all-time high. As in Bosnia, the root of these crimes is the dehumanisation of others â€" the belief that the perpetrator is superior by reason of sex, race or nationality, and has the right to control, humiliate or hurt their victims.
If we want to build stronger, safer, more cohesive communities, we must name and address the issue of male violence against women and girls and recognise that hatred and dehumanisation are the root of this. We must include sexism and violence against women and girls in our fight against all forms of identity-based hatred.
That’s why we are breaking the silence by inviting women such as Bakira HaseÄić, president of the Association of Women Victims of War and a survivor of genocidal rape, to speak about their experiences at commemorations in the UK. Bakira is one of the bravest women I have ever met. By speaking out about what happened to her and thousands of other women during the genocide and seeking justice for the crimes committed against them, she has become a powerful figure from whom we can all learn. She says: “When we survivors first started returning to my home town, we felt that we had to hide from these war criminals who had tried to destroy our lives, but now when I go there, these war criminals hide from me.â€
In remembering the victims of genocide in Bosnia-Herzegovina, we must never forget that Srebrenica was the final act in a genocidal plan aimed at Bosnian Muslims. Among the victims were the 20,000 to 50,000 women and girls (mostly Bosniak) - as young as 12 - who were subjected to sexual violence. We do not know the exact number of victims, because the majority have remained silent, through stigma, shame and fear.
Silence is powerful. When we are silent in the face of hatred, we allow it to grow and flourish. When we are silent about the atrocities of the past, we allow ourselves to forget. When we are silent in the face of denial, we allow history to be rewritten. Silence benefits perpetrators, who are not brought to justice. To stand up to hatred, we must first acknowledge it. We must break the silence.
Bosniak women, such as Bakira, broke the silence around sexual violence as a weapon of war. Through the courage of the women who dared to speak out about their experiences and fight for justice, rape was prosecuted for the first time under international criminal law. The trial of General Ratko Mladić, the verdict on which is due in November, includes counts of genocidal rape and rape as a crime against humanity. Yet despite this undoubted progress, shame, stigma and denial of women’s suffering remains, and perpetrators walk free.
When we pay attention to women’s testimony and place it in the wider context, we see clearly that hatred is gendered. These women were not just targeted for sexual violence because they were Muslim, but also because they were women. At the root of this was discrimination and dehumanisation â€" the objectification of women and girls as they were bought and sold as sexual slaves, and their rapes filmed and distributed as pornography.
Unfortunately, in the UK hate speech and gender violence in schools is on the rise, and a shocking one in five women between 16 and 59 has experienced some form of sexual violence. The consequences when any form of hatred is left unchecked are that, even in what we consider to be peacetime, people’s lives can be destroyed. Sexual violence causes devastation to individuals, families and communities, with the stigma, shame and fear of not being believed mirroring that of wartime or genocidal rape.
That’s why Remembering Srebrenica has dedicated its memorial theme to breaking the silence on this important topic, to help shift shame and stigma from the victims to the perpetrators, as well as tackle hatred and violence by bringing communities together to cherish what they have in common and learn from the past.
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