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Rights Adrift: Sexual Violence Against Rohingya Women on the Andaman Sea

In: Asia-Pacific Journal on Human Rights and the Law
Authors:
Natasha Yacoub Senior Protection Officer, UNHCR (on leave); Affiliate, Andrew & Renata Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, UNSW; former Member, Refugee Review Tribunal Australia, n.yacoub@unsw.edu.au

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,
Nikola Errington Senior Protection Officer, UNHCR, erringto@unhcr.org

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Wai Wai Nu Founder & Executive Director, Women Peace Network, Myanmar, waiwai.peace@gmail.com

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, and
Alexandra Robinson GBV Advisor, UNFPA; PhD student in the College of Arts, Law and Education at the University of Tasmania, arobinson@unfpa.org

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Online Publication Date:
02 Jun 2021
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Abstract

Women fleeing Myanmar in 2015 were trapped on the Andaman Sea for months when States in the region closed off places of disembarkation. Among the horrors of starvation and unsanitary conditions experienced on the boats, they faced additional risks of sexual violence. These women fled from a situation in Myanmar that severely curtailed their rights, including gender violence, which is being tried as genocide at the International Court of Justice, and were exposed to further violations while fleeing. Through interviews with survivors of the journey and those who assisted them, this article describes the experiences of these women at sea. It outlines the failure of States to apply customary principles of international law and related regional standards to protect these women. From a feminist legal theory perspective, it explores the reasons for these failures and recommends reforms to guarantee better protection at sea for women in the future.

Title:
Rights Adrift: Sexual Violence Against Rohingya Women on the Andaman Sea
Article Type:
Research Article
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1163/15718158-22010006
Language:
English
Pages:
96–114
Keywords:
feminist legal theory; Rohingya; Myanmar; refugee women; sexual and gender-based violence; non-refoulement; trafficking; protection at sea
In:
Asia-Pacific Journal on Human Rights and the Law
In:
Volume 22: Issue 1
Publisher:
Brill | Nijhoff
E-ISSN:
1571-8158
Print ISSN:
1388-1906
Subjects:
Human Rights, Human Rights and Humanitarian Law

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