GBV Survivor Support & Participatory Action Research Project
OUR WORK GBV Survivor Support & Participatory Action Research Project Survivor-Centred Pathways to Justice and reparations in the Rohingya refugee communities in Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh Project (Cox’s Bazar – GBV Survivor Support & Participatory Action Research Project) funded by Global Survivors Fund and Asia Justice and Rights . Implemented by: AID-COMILLA & Asia Justice and Rights (AJAR)Implementation Location: Camp 13 & 8EastBackground on CRSV On 25 August 2017 more than 700,000 Rohingya fled Rakhine State, crossing into Bangladesh to escape widespread violence, killings, sexual assault and other atrocities. This exodus was described by UN officials as a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing”. However, this was only the most recent and largest displacement. Rohingya have experienced multiple waves of violence over several decades—including Operation Nagamin in 1978, Operation Pyi Thaya in 1991–1992, the communal violence of 2012, and the 2016 “area clearance operations”—all of which likely contributed to earlier generations of CRSV survivors who are now living in the camps. While the largest wave arrived in 2017, Rohingya have continued to cross the border over the years, and an estimated 150,000 additional people have arrived more recently. Among these new arrivals are women and girls who survived CRSV in Myanmar, alongside reports of CRSV attributed to the Arakan Army in ongoing clashes in Rakhine State. Rohingya refugees now live primarily in the Kutupalong refugee settlements in Cox’s Bazar, one of the largest refugee camps in the world, where conditions remain precarious and return to Myanmar is widely considered unsafe, undignified and legally uncertain. The sexual violence perpetrated against Rohingya women and girls during the 2016–2017 “clearance operations” was widespread, systematic and carried out in conjunction with other grave violations. Survivors consistently describe gang rape, rape during raids, rape in front of family members, and sexualised torture, often occurring alongside killings, disappearances, beatings, arson and forced displacement. AJAR and GSF’s mapping efforts, including participatory research and repeated consultations with Rohingya women, show that entire “hotspot” villages experienced extensive and patterned CRSV. Women from these villages often know each other and provide mutually reinforcing accounts of perpetrator groups, methods used and the context in which the violence occurred, confirming the coordinated nature of CRSV rather than isolated cases. Rohingya society is deeply patriarchal, and CRSV carries profound stigma. Survivors often face blame, shame, social exclusion and restrictions on movement or participation. Disclosure can risk family breakdown or community backlash. As a result, many survivors have never spoken about their experiences, and the true scale of CRSV among Rohingya women and girls remains unknown. Nevertheless, available evidence and community engagement indicate that thousands of women in the camps are direct survivors of CRSV from Myanmar or during displacement. AJAR’s 2021 participatory report, After the Dark: I Bloom Like a Flower, documents the lived experiences and aspirations of Rohingya women survivors. The findings remain highly relevant. Survivors explained that CRSV rarely occurred in isolation but in a “context of other crimes”: arson, killings, abductions, and the destruction of entire communities. Many highlighted the need for trust and survivor-led disclosure, emphasising that they must be in control of when and how they speak about their experiences. Recognition of what happened—acknowledgement of truth, identity, and the harms suffered—was described as a foundational element of their healing. Survivors expressed a strong desire for justice, accountability and eventual restitution of rights, including citizenship and safe return. They also spoke about the value of knowledge, empowerment and community solidarity as pathways to personal and collective strength. For the purposes of this project, CRSV refers specifically to rape, gang rape, sexual assault, sexualised torture and other acts of sexual violence committed in the context of armed conflict and persecution in Myanmar. While men and boys have also experienced CRSV, the majority of survivors are women and girls. The project will therefore focus primarily on direct female CRSV survivors aged 18 and above, ensuring that support is tailored, appropriate and safe within the cultural and social realities of the camps. This proposal outlines a 12-15-month community-based initiative to strengthen support, documentation, and advocacy with GBV survivors in the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar. Building on AJAR and AID-Comilla’s partnerships and presence in the camps, the project focuses on survivor-informed knowledge production, safe participation, and collective advocacy, while remaining fully aligned with camp regulations, protection principles, and humanitarian coordination mechanisms. The project does not introduce new service delivery structures. Instead, it works through participatory methods to document GBV-related harms, survivor priorities, and barriers to justice and protection, and to translate these into ethical, non-identifiable knowledge products and advocacy messages. All activities prioritize safety, confidentiality, and Do No Harm principles, and are designed to complement existing GBV response actors. In recognising the full spectrum of perpetrators relevant to CRSV, the following categories are included within the project’s working definition: Myanmar military (Tatmadaw) Primary perpetrator during the 2016–2017 “clearance operations”; responsible for widespread, systematic CRSV Myanmar Border Guard Police (BGP) Involved in raids, beatings, disappearances and sexual violence in earlier and later cycles of violence Rakhine militias / pro-government local groups Participated in joint operations and were reported perpetrators of sexual violence in several villages. Arakan Army (AA) Documented incidents of CRSV during renewed conflict in Rakhine State among more recent arrivals. Non-state armed actors during flight/displacement Some women and girls reported assaults while fleeing Myanmar or in transit Armed groups and criminal actors inside the camps Sexual violence perpetrated within the camps—including by armed groups, gangs, or individuals exercising coercive control—might fall within the project’s definition of CRSV when linked to conflict, displacement or broader patterns of persecution. This will be discussed with the consultative group, including the question of the limit of the scope when it comes to victims of “civilian” violence. Since AJAR began its work in the camps in 2019, it has observed that CRSV survivors continue to endure profound physical, psychological and social harms. Many suffer from chronic pain, reproductive health complications, depression, anxiety and long-term trauma. The loss of family members, the destruction of their homes and
Explore More
