December 9, 2015: The Syria Justice and Accountability Centre (SJAC) and InterAction held an event on sexual and gender based violence (SGBV) in the Syrian conflict.Speakers included ICAN Co-Founder and MENA Programming Director, Sussan Tahmasebi, Ambassador Steven Steiner from the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), and Cindy Dyer from Vital Voices. Shabnam Mojtahedi, SJAC’s Legal and Strategy Analyst, moderated the panel after first explaining the impetus behind SJAC’s recent report, Societal Attitudes toward SGBV in Syria.

Tahmasebi described her experiences working in Islamic communities addresses issues of SGBV, specifically discussing anti-sexual harassment activities in Egypt. She advocates for the vital to work with indigenous civil society groups to advance women’s rights so that impacts are sustained, and she advises the international community to think long-term and build the capacities of local groups to address the needs of their communities.

Find a full summary of the event and read the original report, Societal Attitudes toward SGBV in Syria.