E. Sexual violence against men since 2015 Background

E. Sexual violence against men since 2015
1. Background
444. Since its establishment, the Commission has collected a substantial number of witness accounts related to sexual violence against men and boys committed in Burundi between April 2015 and June 2020, particularly in the context of detention.⁵⁵³
445. Sexual violence against men and boys in conflict situations or countries in transition receives little recognition or consideration, due to the tendency to prioritize sexual violence against women and girls in international organizations’ policies and programmatic frameworks, and the United Nations in particular.⁵⁵⁴ This situation, which essentially results from the observation that women and girls are disproportionately⁵⁵⁵ affected by sexual violence in situations of armed conflict and transition, has the effect of creating a conflation between sexual violence and violence against women and girls.⁵⁵⁶
446. In addition, due to the gender roles and norms that prevail in Burundi, as in most societies, which associate masculinity to strength and power,⁵⁵⁷ men and boys are particularly reluctant to report the violence which they have been subjected to as sexual violence and would rather speak of torture. Indeed, as a result of sexual violence, men feel diminished or stripped of their virility and masculinity, and they call into question their ability to procreate and their role in the family and the community.⁵⁵⁸
447. Moreover, when social norms prohibit homosexuality and national legislation criminalizes homosexual relations without distinguishing between consensual and non-consensual sexual acts, as it is the case in Burundi, men who survive sexual violence are also at risk of being stigmatized for their alleged sexual orientation and even run the risk of being prosecuted, thus fostering a sociocultural and legal framework that favors impunity for such violence. Furthermore, it is not uncommon for survivors to find it easier to initially report that they witnessed these acts rather than declaring themselves victims⁵⁵⁹ of the reported acts.
448. Interviews and research conducted by the Commission suggest that the difficulty of conceptualizing acts constituting sexual violence against men as sexual violence and not simply as acts of torture or ill-treatment also extends to human rights organizations that work in Burundi or on Burundi.⁵⁶⁰ Since at least 2006, methods of torture constitutive of sexual violence have been used regularly against men and women in detention, especially those under the responsibility of the SNR.⁵⁶¹ However, in most cases, sexual violence against men was solely reported as torture and ill-treatment, while violence against women was reported as sexual and gender-based violence.⁵⁶²
449. This partial recognition - or lack thereof - of sexual violence committed by state agents against men and boys has multiple consequences. Indeed, when the sexualized nature of the acts is obscured, there is little chance that the violence will receive any adequate and specific response, be it in the form of providing assistance to survivors, fighting impunity and preventing this type of violence or access to justice and reparations. The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights also underlined in 2017 that acts of sexual violence can target any individual, no matter their gender, and that sexual violence against men and boys (among others gender categories) must receive adequate and effective response from States.⁵⁶³ Better understanding of sexual violence against men is therefore necessary to improve and complete the analysis of the gender dimension of a conflict or a crisis.⁵⁶⁴