The road to justice is fraught with difficulties for Nepalese victims

A message from Salina Kafle, Human Rights Coordinator

Sakhi means friend in Nepalese and it is the pseudonym chosen by a brave young woman, in order to allow me to share her story with you.

Sakhi is a survivor of sexual violence, and was only 13 years old at the time of the event. When she regained consciousness after being raped by two soldiers, she did not immediately understand what had happened to her. It was only manyyears later that she was finally able to demand justice, once the civil war was over and the transitional justice process had been put in place.

But the road to justice is still long. In this case, the formal criminal proceedings only began in 2019! Like Sakhi, many victims need you to start and continue their legal procedures.

Join our fight against impunity and make a donation today!

When I met Sakhi in 2018, I was astounded by her determination and resilience. Jurisdiction after jurisdiction, we filed complaints, motions and requests for an investigation to be opened and the perpetrators of the crime to be apprehended. After facing numerous obstacles at the domestic level – including an extremely short statute of limitations – we decided to file an individual communication to the United Nations.

Join us in supporting the too many victims of wartime sexual violence. So far, your massive mobilization has allowed us to collect more than 15’000 CHF ! Encouraged by the success of this campaign, our major donors have decided to continue to double your donations throughout the weekend! This means that you still have a few hours left to double your impact.

I thank you with all my heart for your commitment!

Salina Kafle, Human Rights Coordinator at the HRJC