Tales of sexual assault against Rohingya women ‘tip of ice berg’: UN

Warning that the horrific accounts of rape and sexual assault against Rohingya women and girls fleeing unrest in Myanmar could be “just the tip of the iceberg,” said the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

“Gender-based violence, including rape and sexual assault, is a key concern that has emerged from the ongoing humanitarian crisis,” said the UNFPA in a news release on Thursday.

The UN agency underscored the need to ensure that such violence is prevented and called for additional resources so that it can reach all those in need of assistance.

The UN agency noted that it has already provided a range of services, including medical and psychosocial counselling assistance, to more than 7,000 Rohingya women refugees.

However, many victims have not reported their ordeal out of concerns over safety, confidentiality, shame and stigma, it added.

“This is what makes it challenging to come up with accurate numbers of gender-based violence survivors.”

According to UNFPA, the lead UN agency on addressing gender-based violence in humanitarian crisis and emergencies, more than 480,000 Rohingya refugees have poured into Bangladesh as violence erupted in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine province since 25 August.

Over half of the Rohingyas crossed into Bangladesh are women and girls. Some 120,000 among them are women of reproductive age and 24,000 are either pregnant or breastfeeding.

UNFPA has set up five ‘Women Friendly Spaces’ - areas which women can access at anytime for safety or to access information, education, support or other services - and plans to scale it up to 15 by the end of the year.

It has also helped set up community watch groups and medical camps with psychosocial counselling assistance amid what it noted are “incredibly challenging circumstances.”

However, given the scale of the crisis, UNFPA and other UN agencies as well as partners, are struggling in need of resources. The UNFPA alone needs an additional $13 million to meet the demand for services over the next six months.

Meanwhile, UNICEF on Thursday called for international support to the efforts being led by Bangladesh to deliver urgent humanitarian aid and ensure the protection of children’s rights.

They made the call after the tragic accident on Thursday evening cost lives of at least 20 people - including several children - in the waters of the Bay of Bengal.

UNICEF termed the incident as a “grim reminder of the extraordinary risks that desperate Rohingya are taking in order to escape the violence engulfing their homeland”.

Dozens of others are believed to have perished making similar journeys since the latest crisis in Rakhine state erupted in late August.

The UN agency said over a quarter of a million children from Myanmar have now taken refuge in southern Bangladesh in recent weeks.