War forces difficult choices. For one young woman in the Central African Republic [CAR], where a war between Christian and Muslim militias has divided the country and displaced hundreds of thousands, the choice was between selling her body and starving.
Like other women in similar positions, she survived by bartering sex for food and money from United Nations Peacekeepers stationed at the nearby Bambari military base. Then, one day in late , U. They gang raped her and threatened to kill her. They said if I resisted they would kill me. They took me one by one. Margolis was in the Central African Republic in January to document cases of sexual violence committed by local militias.
Overall she documented eight cases of sexual abuse by U. On Jan. Troops from Georgia, serving with the E. U force, were also implicated. Of the 77 confirmed allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation in the U. As bad as the numbers may be, says Margolis, the U. The problem is that certain policies, born of a bureaucratic system that requires consensus from member nations, can sometimes get in the way. Troop contributing nations, not the U. They are responsible for prevention and discipline.
Far too often, says Margolis, cases of rape or sexual exploitation by peacekeepers are dismissed as a conduct issue, not a crime that stands to undermine the whole notion of U.
As an organization, the U. It can repatriate offending troops back to their home countries, and it can prevent offending countries from sending troops to other engagements. But in the case of CAR, options are limited. CAR is in a crucial election that, if it goes smoothly, could lead to the end of the conflict. The troops in question are guarding a volatile frontline, and it would be difficult, politically and logistically, to get fresh troops in their place.
