A/HRC/56/CRP.8 57. Cases of sexual and gender-based violence are grossly under-reported in Myanmar. Women’s and LGBT organizations face enormous obstacles when documenting genderbased crimes, including military checkpoints, transportation restrictions, telecommunications blockages, and the risk of airstrikes or other military attacks. Many women and LGBT human rights defenders have been displaced themselves. Resistance forces have at times placed restrictions on civil society organizations and limited travel into areas they control, further impeding efforts to document sexual and gender-based violence. Threats of retaliation, including collective punishment against family members, and fears of criticism or social ostracism prevent some survivors from reporting cases of sexual violence. The absence of a functioning judiciary, the collapse of the rule of law, and a dearth of support services deprive survivors of legal recourse and protection and ensure perpetrators enjoy impunity for their crimes. A. Widespread sexual violence by SAC forces 58. Since the coup, SAC forces have perpetrated widespread sexual and gender-based violence, repeating patterns of abuse dating back decades. Acts of sexual violence have taken place in conflict zones, displacement settings, and places of detention. While men have been targeted, women and LGBT people have been especially vulnerable to these crimes. 59. Human rights organizations, Myanmar civil society, and UN investigators have extensively documented the Myanmar military’s responsibility for widespread sexual violence over many decades. In 2018, the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar reported that sexual violence was a “hallmark” of the Myanmar armed forces’ and affiliated security forces’ military operations against ethnic minorities.50 The Fact-Finding Mission found evidence that "rape and other forms of sexual violence were part of a deliberate strategy to intimidate, terrorize, and punish a civilian population, and were used as a tactic of war” against the Rohingya and ethnic groups in northern Myanmar. It also found that sexual violence was a “recurring feature” of operations against ethnic groups in Kachin and Shan States between 2011 and 2018, consistent with historical patterns of abuse in ethnic areas for decades prior.51 60. Since the coup, it is clear that the Myanmar military has continued to perpetrate widespread sexual violence in conflict areas. Some of the most horrific reports of sexual and gender-based violence and atrocities are emerging from these areas. The Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM) has collected “substantial evidence” of sexual and gender-based violence since the coup and reported that conflicts have “severely impacted” women, children, and members of the LGBT community in Myanmar.52 In 2023, 50 51 52 physical, sexual, psychological or economic harm or suffering, threats of such acts, harassment, coercion and arbitrary deprivation of liberty.” This includes but is not limited to rape, sexual harassment, domestic violence, trafficking, violence against LGBT persons, emotional or psychological violence, early and forced marriage. The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, Report of the detailed findings of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, UN Doc. A/HRC/39/CRP.2, 17 September 2018, https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/FFMMyanmar/A_HRC_39_CRP.2.pdf. The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, Sexual and gender-based violence in Myanmar and the gendered impact of its ethnic conflicts, UN Doc. A/HRC/42/CRP.4, 22 August 2019, https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/FFMMyanmar/sexualviolence/A_HRC_CRP_4.pdf. The Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, Bulletin Issue 09, October 2023, https://iimm.un.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/2023-October-Bulletin-EN.pdf; The Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, Report of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for 17