Sexual Violence and Armed Conflict: What Every Journalist Needs to Know

At the International Journalism Festival, Christina Lamb, Juliana Ruhfus, Josephine Schmidt and Gavin Rees discuss how to report accurately and ethically on sexual violence and torture. 

Increasing reports are emerging of sexual violence being committed in the war in Ukraine, and it occurs during conflict of all kinds. Few journalistic challenges carry a greater weight of responsibility than interviewing the survivors. When rape is used in war, it has a devastating impact on individuals and their communities. Over the last two years, the Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma Europe has worked with journalists and filmmakers who have worked in Iraq and Syria, the Great Lakes region of Africa, Colombia and many other situations, to develop these new reporting guidelines on covering conflict-related sexual violence. The advice contained is of use to anyone, working on the current war in Ukraine, or in other areas including paramilitary conflicts, who may find themselves documenting human rights abuses, involving torture or sexual violence.