VP Harris launches initiative providing support for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence
Vice President Kamala Harris launched 'Dignity in Documentation Initiative,' addressing global conflict-related sexual violence and supporting survivors through UN efforts and leadership programs.
NEW YORK – Vice President Kamala Harris launched the “Dignity in Documentation Initiative” on Monday night at the White House, marking the “International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict” where she spoke of the gender-based violence Hamas committed in Israel on October 7 as well as gender-based violence in conflicts around the world including South Sudan, Haiti and Iraq.
Harris’s remarks were followed by a partial screening of Sheryl Sandberg’s documentary film Screams Before Silence which chronicles Hamas’s sexual violence on October 7.
In the days after October 7, Harris said she saw images of bloodied Israeli women who were abducted to Gaza.
“Then it came to light that Hamas committed rape and gang rape at the Nova music festival and women’s bodies were found naked from the waist down, hands tied behind their back and shot in the head,” she added.
Harris said she heard stories from a former hostage of what she witnessed and heard in captivity, and she also met with a survivor who came forward with her account of sexual violence while she was held captive by Hamas.
Addressing sexual violence
“These testimonies, I fear, will only increase as more hostages are released. We cannot look away and we will not be silent,” Harris said. “My heart breaks for all these survivors and their families and for all the pain and suffering over the past eight months in Israel and in Gaza.”
Harris said she and President Joe Biden are “deeply concerned by all reports of sexual violence and degradation” which is why they’ve made it clear Hamas needs to accept the ceasefire deal on the table, which would bring the hostages home and lead to a permanent end to hostilities.
In recent years, the international community has made great progress on recognizing that the issue of conflict-related sexual violence is an attack on peace, stability and human rights.
“It is the responsibility of all of us – governments, international organizations, civil society and individual citizens – to actively confront conflict-related sexual violence and to work to rid our world of this heinous crime,” Harris said, “and to do what is necessary to hold perpetrators accountable.”
The initiative announced Monday night will support UN efforts to end conflict–related sexual violence as well as increase women’s leadership through the Women, Peace and Security Incentive Fund, among others.
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