Nikolas Kristof writes about ending the silence associated with talking about sexual violence.   A report this week from Free Burma Rangers breaks the silence on the recent gang rape of a 12 year old girl in Shan State, Burma–part of the continuing crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing being carried out by the Burma Army. 

Rape is one of the oldest weapons used to terrorize women and children and whole communities.  A google search on “rape, why women stay silent” turned up this article about women in DR Congo.  

Last year, the UN recognized rape as a weapon of war-something victims have recognized for centuries (see article from Human Rights Watch).  It’s almost exactly a year later….has anything changed? More words from the UN-good words, but, maybe I haven’t looked hard enough to find it, but have any of the regimes using this weapon been made accountable for their actions/inactions?  Are they being prosecuted?  Is it being stopped?  How do we make it stop being OK to rape?