“I'm not afraid of people anymore”: A sexual violence survivor in rural Myanmar shares how raising awareness on gender-based violence has changed harmful community attitudes.

(Named changed to protect identity)

Ma Shwe said she “was just a young girl” when she was raped by a man from her village. In this act of violence, he crushed her self-confidence and left her feeling terrified.

Ma Shwe was raised in a small farming village in rural Myanmar with around 200 households. After the rape, she felt judged by her community, and she felt shamed and outcast. “I was afraid to live in my environment, and so I left my home and village,” she said.

Her perpetrator also left, to avoid police action. When it seemed clear he would not return, Ma Shwe decided to move back because, now a single mother, she wanted to live with her family and raise her child in the village she grew up in. On returning though, she continued to feel judged by those around her, and as she dealt with the ongoing physical and mental health impacts of the violence, it was a daily struggle to feel safe and comfortable.

“I used to feel shy and afraid of people,” she said, “but there was a training in my village on gender-based violence and I attended. After the training I felt that I can accept being alive.”

Ma Shwe accessed a range of services, including counselling sessions, with the support of a local women-led organization – one of many that UN Women works with across Myanmar to reach and support women and girls who have experienced or are at risk of experiencing gender-based violence (GBV).

She also attended training courses and awareness raising sessions that were delivered through a digital learning platform that made it accessible for a wide range of people from the community, including men and boys, to attend. The sessions aimed to break down harmful social norms and attitudes that perpetuate violence and discrimination against women and girls.

“After the training, I saw that the views of the people around me had changed a lot,” she said. “This change is important. It gives people like me who have suffered from violence the strength to keep spirits high. It makes people feel equal and understand everyone has rights, so they learn to value each other.”

In Myanmar, the combined impacts of escalating armed conflict and protracted economic, humanitarian, protection and environmental crises heighten the vulnerability of women and girls. Dire conditions have led to economic stressors including job loss, rising food prices and disrupted services. All of which – combined with deeply-rooted societal gender norms and inequalities – are aggravating tensions at home and increasing the incidence and risk of violence against women and girls, especially intimate partner violence which Myanmar women have said is the most common form of gender-based violence in their communities*.

Women’s organizations in Myanmar play a vital role in ending and preventing gender-based violence by providing services at the community level, bolstering women’s empowerment, and reaching those at risk of being left behind.

A representative from the women-lead organization supporting Ma Shwe said when she first started accessing the GBV services, “She cried openly because of the comments from some people around her and every day was a time of worry and sadness for her.

“However, she attended the awareness sessions and accepted that it was not her fault. In addition, she was able to regain her self-confidence and acceptance of her own existence as she received timely counseling sessions,” the representative said.

UN Women works with other UN agencies, including UNFPA, and local partner organizations to provide GBV prevention and response services in Myanmar, including: 

• community awareness raising and training to prevent GBV and advance women’s rights;
• cash-based interventions and livelihood support;
• strengthening community protection services and referrals to professional GBV services (such as medical, psychosocial support, and legal assistance); and
• strengthening GBV service provision and inter-agency coordination.

A new joint programme beginning in November 2023, supported by the Government of France, will provide additional support for UN Women and UNFPA to deliver GBV services in Kachin state in communities affected by the ongoing conflict.

While Ma Shwe continues to struggle with the impact of the violence that was perpetrated against her, she now feels more comfortable in her community. She said she has hope for the future and even dreams of one day opening her own business.

“I feel like I've got my own life back, and I'm not afraid of people anymore.” 

 *Findings from focus group discussions conducted for 2023 Multi Sectoral Needs Analysis