Live webchat with Foreign Sec William Hague on sexual violence in conflict

[KatieMumsnet]

William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, will be joining us for a webchat this Monday (June 2) between 3.15pm and 4pm, to discuss a global campaign to end sexual violence in conflict.

In war zones across the world, sexual violence is used as a devastating weapon - and according to UNICEF, those most at risk are women and their children, both girls and boys. One of the starkest current examples is the conflict in Syria; nearly three out of four refugees who spoke with researchers on their arrival in neighbouring countries last year reported that sexual violence in Syria was on the rise. Earlier this year, JustineMumsnet joined others in highlighting the need for action.

William Hague and Angelina Jolie, Special Envoy for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, will co-chair the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict at ExCel London on June 10-13 2014. The summit, which is set to be the largest-ever gathering on the subject, will hear calls for international leaders to commit to protect women and children in war zones from rape and sexual abuse.

If you've questions for William Hague on the summit, what's likely to be discussed and which measures we can hope for in the wake of it, please do post them now, and come back on Monday to join the discussion.

[WilliamHagueMP]

@CocktailQueen

Which world leaders are attending the summit? Are any leaders attending from countries such as Syria, which are actually experiencing this?

What concrete measures for you hope will come from the summit?

What can Angelina Jolie do to help? Does she use her celebrity to publicise the summit?

I think it sounds like a great and very welcome initiative. But I question whether it will work. How can it be enforced?

There are 3 heads of state, 61 Ministers and representatives of 89 countries attending. This does include people from Syria, and countries like Somalia, DRC and Bosnia which have seen sexual violence in conflict on a huge scale.

The measures will include a new International Protocol on investigating such crimes, and country action plans for worst-affected nations.

Angelina Jolie plays a vital role. She founded this Initiative with me, and, yes, she brings attention to it, but she also brings great knowledge and expertise.

[AndHarry]

Hello :)

[WilliamHagueMP]

@mrsruffallo

How can we end it? What can be put in place? I am also interested in what kind of commitment we can are hope for.

Just wanted to say I think William Hague has been a fantastic champion for international women's rights and I am proud of him.

We can end it with a combination of political will from governments around the world and a global change in attitudes. I want this to produce prosecutions of perpetrators, better support for survivors, changes in military training, and enhanced international coordination so that the whole culture of impunity around these crimes can be shattered.

[WilliamHagueMP]

@keepyourchinupdear

What is happening about Meriam Ibrahim? Will she be released? Will the UK fight for her & her family's human rights?

I am outraged that such barbarism is still rife in this day in age. She gave birth with her feet shackled together

We have put huge pressure on the Sudanese government. We think her sentence should be overturned immediately and that Sudan should adhere to its international human rights obligations. The international outrage has been clear and wholly justified, and we are continuing to pursue this appalling case.

[LRDtheFeministDragon]

Could you say more about changes in military training, please? Are there plans for better treatment for returning troops, to help prevent them turning to violence?

[JustineMumsnet]

@FrancesNiadova

Hey Justine, what's it like?

It's very naice.

[WilliamHagueMP]

@sarinka

Meriam Ibrahim will be saved becuase the world's attention has been focused on her.

Thousands of other Meriam Ibrahims will die unremarked this year.

What exactly will your government do to stop this from happening and when will you stop kowtowing to and actively supporting Muslim fundamentalist regimes?

You are quite right that there is far more widespread suffering than one well-known case. This is why we have to aim for a global change in attitudes, and although this is very ambitious, this is one of the things we are trying to achieve through our campaign against sexual violence in conflict. And in my view this is only one aspect of what I call the great strategic prize of the 21st century, which is the full political, social and economic empowerment of women everywhere.

[JugglingFromHereToThere]

Am glad to read your answer regarding Meriam Ibrahim, and hope that the actions of the UK government, together with the international campaign for her release, will produce the result we are all hoping for - her release to a place of safety for her and her family

[WilliamHagueMP]

@IceBeing

hmm I should ask an actual question:

Do you think having women in positions of political power would raise the profile of women, and the level of societal respect for women and thus reduce sexual violence in war time?

Would you like to start with your own party?

Yes I do think that there should be more women in positions of political power. It makes an enormous difference to me that two of my three special advisers are women and they, for instance, have been a big influence not only on me but on this campaign. On the basis of working with them for the last nine years I strongly recommend having more women in positions of power and influence in the Conservative Party and in the UK just as in the rest of the world. I have also found that the work of Sayeeda Warsi in the Foreign Office, the senior Minister of State, makes a big difference to much of what we do.

[IceBeing]

the great strategic prize of the 21st century, which is the full political, social and economic empowerment of women everywhere.

Well that is certainly something I could get on board with...but doesn't it start at home? Shouldn't we be leading by example and be aiming for a 50:50 male:female cabinet / parliament by...oh...lets say 2020...

[IceBeing]

ooopps xpost

[LRDtheFeministDragon]

I'm slightly uncomfortable with 'empowerment', TBH. I'd rather see equality - empowerment sounds like giving women the potential but without the committment to make sure we can use it (so we could fall back on the old 'oh, women have the power to do x, y and z, they just choose not to). But that's a quibble, not a question.

[WilliamHagueMP]

@Angeleno

Hi William - thanks for coming to MN. Do you have an update on what's happening with the missing Nigerian school girls?

We are working hard on this with the US, France and Nigeria. These appalling abductions by Boko Haram are a stark reminder of the threat faced by women and girls in conflict-prone areas. During the Summit next week I will hold a further meeting focused on the situation in Nigeria to follow up the talks I attended with West African states two weeks ago in Paris. And in the meantime, our surveillance aircraft is at work to help with locating the girls.

[IceBeing]

yes also Id rather have female equality in power rather than female representation which is about all we manage at the moment.

Having said that, it is tremendously encouraging to see William taking so much positive influence from female advisers.

[LRDtheFeministDragon]

YY, I find it encouraging too.

[Ketchuphidestheburntbits]

Hello Mr Hague,

My question is: Will the summit be discussing the topic of trying to stop FGM?

[JugglingFromHereToThere]

"our surveillance aircraft is at work to help with locating the girls" (missing in Nigeria)

As a Quaker and a pacifist I'd like to say that this is the sort of project I'm happy to see our military personnel engaged in - so many good things that our brave young men and women could be directing their energies towards, rather than the terrible waste of life and resources when armed conflict is involved

[WilliamHagueMP]

@FairPhyllis

How do you hope to achieve an end to sexual violence in conflict situations when rape and other forms of sexual violence in the UK are so widespread and have such a low conviction rate that they are effectively decriminalised? 1 in 5 women in England and Wales has experienced sexual violence since the age of 16 (source: MoJ, ONS and HO joint bulletin on sexual violence).

If we are so unable to effectively tackle sexual violence in a stable country with a functioning criminal justice system, what exactly do you think you will be able to achieve in contexts of lawlessness and extreme violence?

And as a follow-up question, mightn't we more effectively tackle sexual violence if we looked at it as a global pattern of violence perpetrated overwhelmingly by men against women in every sphere of life - domestic, non-domestic, in conflict situations, in non-conflict situations? I agree that it's always more extreme in conflict situations, but I feel we're not going to solve the problem unless we tackle every front simultaneously.

This is a very important question. You are quite right that we do have to tackle every front simultaneously. But defeating sexual violence in conflict is a crucial part of winning this battle. One of the things we are trying to achieve is a global change in attitudes, including an increased recognition by many men that a real man does not commit acts of violence and abuse against women and girls. These are the actions of weak and cowardly men. And if we can show them this around the world, it will affect domestic attitudes in many countries.

At the same time, we have to everything possible here at home. My colleague the Home Secretary is in charge of this, but I know the police are introducing some specialist investigation teams, and more rapes are now being reported to the police, and the lengths of sentences for rapists have increased. I am convinced we have to tackle these things simultaneously.

[WilliamHagueMP]

@gelati3

Thank you for coming on Mr Hague. Is there anything the British public can do to help, any groups you would recommend we support?

The first thing to do is to come to the Summit. There are 140 fringe events and here is a link to the programme bit.ly/1oZT169. It is at the Excel Centre in London from Tuesday to Thursday next week, the events are free and there is no need to register in advance. You can also take a photo with a #timetoact sign and share it on social media to help spread the word about the campaign.

[LRDtheFeministDragon]

I hope I'm ok to comment as I know I have already made one quibble.

But it really bothers me, this 'real man' rhetoric. That is going to reinforce a particular image of masculinity, but will it stop the violence? I don't see how. At the moment, it isn't considered virile and laudable to rape little girls and boys, but still it happens. I've seen a lot of campaigns along the lines of 'real men don't rape' and they make me feel a bit sick, to be honest. It shouldn't be something to be terribly proud of, should it? Implying it is, is implying that not being violent or a rapist is some great achievement, rather than basic human decency.

[Chocolateisnottheonlyfruit]

Good afternoon,

How much of the work of international diplomacy is about working with regimes that have cultural norms that you do not agree with, but have to tolerate some misogyny from in order to engage with ?

Is it possible that they will just refuse to engage if you tackle them head on about their behaviour towards women ?

Thank you

[WilliamHagueMP]

@LRDtheFeministDragon

Could you say more about changes in military training, please? Are there plans for better treatment for returning troops, to help prevent them turning to violence?

This is an important part of the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative. We are encouraging changes in military training and doctrine, because it is a sad truth that some of these crimes are carried out by soldiers against civilians they are meant to be protecting. And soldiers are sometimes the first people outside the family to come into contact with survivors. We are working on this with many countries, for instance we are training the new army in Mali on preventing sexual violence. I have attended events in Bosnia and Colombia introducing new military training in such countries. And during the NATO Summit later this year we will hold a special event for the NATO Armed Forces.

[IceBeing]

increased recognition by many men that a real man does not commit acts of violence and abuse against women and girls. These are the actions of weak and cowardly men.

I understand the motivation here...I really do. But setting women and girls apart like this is exacerbating the problem rather than solving it.
Anyone who uses superior physical force to abuse or attack anyone is a coward.

By saying someone is especially cowardly to attack a woman or girl is to further perpetuate the damaging idea that women and girls are weaker....more delicate...in need of special treatment and protections. It is this image of women and girls as weak / other / unempowered that produces the issue of violence against women in the first place.

[LRDtheFeministDragon]

Thank you very much for replying, and for that explanation.

It sounds very positive.

[WilliamHagueMP]

@ThurstonWingman

Hello

I've seen a couple of people recently suggest that we should just stop giving UK development aid to countries that just don't take women's safety seriously - places like Pakistan, Sudan, India. Realise it's a bit simplistic to say they 'don't take women's safety seriously' but it seems hard to deny, in the context of news stories over the past few months and even days, that some of these countries just seem to abhor women's sexuality at an institutional and cultural level, and to punish them in the cruellest possible ways for expressing their individuality and sexuality.

Why is British tax-payer's money still going there? Can you give us your take on this? Not saying I agree with the premise myself but I do feel uncomfortable knowing that, say, my money is supporting business start-ups by men in Pakistan when women there are being stoned to death in public with seeming impunity for the perpetrators.

The answer to this is really what our aid is achieving for women and girls in some of the countries you mention. For instance, in Pakistan, by next year British aid will have helped 2 million girls to go to school, increased the number of births delivered with the help of nurses, midwives and doctors by 1 million, and helped around 700,000 women gain access to financial services such as micro-loans to start a business. It would be counter-productive to cut off aid that achieves these results and disastrous for many women in Pakistan.