Rape and other forms of sexual violence occurs in most contemporary armed conflicts. While disproportionately affecting women and girls, CRSV involving men and boys has been documented in over 25 different situations of armed conflict in recent decades. CRSV specifically targeting people with diverse SOGIESC has also occurred, but remains significantly unreported.

Victims/survivors of CRSV can experience profound physical and mental health consequences, as well social and economic harms. The consequences differ according to sex, gender, age and other variables, including an individual’s SOGIESC. Timely access to quality, survivor-centred medical care and other essential support is also impacted by many factors. In the case of male and/including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI+) victims/survivors, these can include negative social and cultural attitudes toward sexual violence involving males, structural discrimination against people with diverse SOGIESC, including discriminatory laws that criminalise consensual same-sex conduct, and/or diverse gender identities and expressions. Access to justice remains constrained for the vast majority of CRSV victims/survivors, with men, boys and/including people with diverse SOGIESC often facing specific gender-related legal and procedural barriers to realising their right to justice.

All Survivors Project (ASP) seeks to complement and reinforce existing work on CRSV against women and girls, recognising the disproportionate impact of CRSV on them and the way in which gendered inequalities, institutions and identities drive this form of violence. Our work on men, boys and/including people with diverse SOGIESC is aimed at enlarging the scope of research, analysis, action and responses to prevent and support victims/survivors to include those who are not always easily identified or supported within existing action on CRSV.