On the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, the United Nations and the European Union join forces to call for decisive action at the political and operational levels to prevent and eradicate sexual violence and to protect civilian infrastructure, including healthcare facilities in conflict zones. According to the World Health Organization, 1,510 attacks on healthcare facilities in areas affected by armed conflict were reported in 2023, compared with some 1,000 attacks in 2019. We are alarmed by this increase, which severely hampers the access of survivors of sexual violence to life-saving assistance, protection, reporting and reintegration. Sexual violence is one of the most devastating forms of violence committed mainly against women and girls but also men and boys, during armed conflicts. It adversely and profoundly affects women’s physical, sexual and reproductive, and mental health. It is a major public health problem and a violation of women’s human rights. Ensuring the inviolability of healthcare facilities in conflict zones is paramount for the protection of the basic human rights of survivors.

Attacks on hospitals by armed actors, and the intimidation, harassment, threats and violence against health workers, has direct detrimental consequences for communities, including survivors of sexual violence. The delivery of health and psychosocial support services is severely compromised, as well as the availability of post-rape kits, including HIV prevention treatments, during the crucial 72-hour window for survivors, in contexts marked by widespread insecurity. Moreover, sexual and reproductive health services, including emergency contraceptives, which are critical for survivors to avoid unwanted pregnancies, are hardly accessible in areas where health structures have been partially or totally destroyed, or where the influx of internally displaced persons or refugees has overwhelmed already overstretched response capacities.

The protection of healthcare facilities, equipment and health personnel in conflict zones is essential to mitigate the adverse impacts of conflict-related sexual violence on survivors, and to ensure reporting of these crimes as a basis for future accountability. Hospitals act as a place of refuge for war-torn communities, including survivors of sexual violence. Therefore, we urge parties to conflict to ensure that health facilities are not targeted, in line with International Humanitarian Law. We also call on the international donor community to fund the operations by humanitarian actors, including those working on providing specialized services to meet the most pressing needs of survivors of sexual and gender-based violence.

We remain determined to protect survivors and those at-risk to ensure an enabling environment and to hold perpetrators accountable for their crimes. The international community must unite its voice to call for the protection of health services.