Conflict-related sexual violence in Myanmar: The role of the state

VENUE

The dialogues in the series will be held in hybrid mode, i.e. in-person on the ANU Campus, and virtually on zoom.

IN-PERSON: Institutes Boardroom, HC Coombs Extension Building, 9 Fellows Road, ANU, Acton, ACT, 2601.

ONLINE: Zoom. Please select the relevant ticket, in-person or online, according to your preferred attendance mode.

For more information on the MRC 2025 Dialogue Series please see the MRC website or contact the Chair:

• Zaw Yadanar Hein, zaw.hein@anu.edu.au

Conflict-related sexual violence in Myanmar: The role of the state

The prevention of Conflict-related Sexual Violence (CRSV) often relies on states to lead prevention and response mechanisms at the domestic level. However, state actors, such as the military, are frequently responsible for this violence. Can states play an effective role in preventing and responding to CRSV? This presentation, drawing from a forthcoming book, provides a deeper understanding of the state’s role as a prevention actor and explains why strategies aimed at preventing CRSV often fail and can sometimes even result in more harm.

Myanmar is a politically complex state that has experienced several decades of armed conflict, persistent military regimes, and a high prevalence of CRSV incidents committed by the state armed forces, the Tatmadaw. The book, Conflict-Related Sexual Violence in Myanmar: The Role of the State, offers unique insights into CRSV prevention efforts in Myanmar, tracing the implementation process of the Joint Communiqué (JC), an agreement signed between the Myanmar government and the United Nations to effectively prevent and respond to CRSV.

The book is based on a comprehensive qualitative analysis of internal and public documents, and interviews with multiple stakeholders over a two-year period. It reveals how the gendered power structure and formal and informal practices of Myanmar’s state institutions constantly impeded the implementation process of the JC and offered a very limited political opportunity structure for local women’s civil society organisations (CSOs) to be involved in the JC implementation. A significant portion of the data in this study was collected in 2021 following the military coup in Myanmar. The author describes her experiences as a local researcher in solidarity with the local research participants experiencing the brutality of the military crackdown and conducting data collection in a particularly challenging context.

Speaker

Dr Phyu Phyu Oo is a Research Fellow at the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (CEVAW) at Griffith University. She holds a Master of Public Health from Johns Hopkins University and a PhD in International Relations from Griffith University. Her research focuses on addressing critical issues related to sexual and gender-based violence in conflict and other crises. With over a decade of experience as a practitioner in development and humanitarian settings across the Asia-Pacific region, she brings both academic expertise and practical insight to her work. Dr Oo was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship in 2014 and a Griffith Postgraduate Scholarship in 2019. Her forthcoming book, Conflict-Related Sexual Violence in Myanmar: The Role of the State, was recognised with the John Legge Thesis Prize for the best thesis in Asian Studies by the Asian Studies Association of Australia.

Chair

Zaw Yadanar Hein, zaw.hein@anu.edu.au

The ANU Myanmar Research Centre Dialogue Series is a conversation concerning current research on Myanmar aimed at providing scholars with an opportunity to present their work, try out an idea, advance an argument and critically engage with other researchers. International and Myanmar researchers from any discipline are invited to contribute. The Dialogue Series is particularly seeking to provide a space for early career researchers wishing to receive constructive feedback. Each dialogue is one hour long, including a 30-minute presentation followed by a 30-minute Q&A. As a hybrid series, the Dialogues are presented in both virtual and in-person format, hosted by the ANU Myanmar Research Centre.

Image by May Co Naing