An April 2004 report published by the Karen Women's Organization (KWO) documents recent, widespread abuses against Karen women by the Burmese army. The new report, "Shattering Silences", documents 125 cases of rape perpetrated by soldiers in the past eighteen months.

It is clear these rapes represent just a fraction of the abuses suffered by Karen women; lack of access to victims combined with shame, fear, and cultural constraints against frank discussion of rape make these numbers examples of the problem rather than a comprehensive catalogue. The report clearly connects rape and other human rights abuses--forced labor, torture, and extrajudicial execution.

It is obvious from "Shattering Silences" that rape is not the work of rogue soldiers, but, rather, is another example of the abusive, authoritarian, and lawless strategies employed by Burma's regime, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) to hold power at any cost.

That cost, as amply demonstrated by KWO's report, is borne in great degree by the Karen women of Burma. "Shattering Silences" adds to the body of work, started by "License to Rape," a report by the Shan Women's Action Network (SWAN), that, taken together, paints a grim picture of the security situation for ethnic women of Burma.

Further reading:

• "Shattering Silences"
  Karen Women's Organization, April 2004
• License to Rape
  Shan Human Rights Foundation and Shan Women's Action Network, May 2002
• School for Rape
  EarthRights International, February 1998