New video marks the first anniversary of the All Survivors Project

The All Survivors Project, hosted by the Williams Institute, marks its first anniversary on December 14, 2017 with the release of an eight-minute video, called The Hidden Crisis, which examines ongoing sexual violence against men and boys in the Central African Republic (CAR). Abuse experienced by men and boys in the CAR is severe; many reported anal rape, including penetration with objects such as sticks and guns.

"Our research in the CAR has found that male survivors – who suffer greatly – face many challenges in accessing medical, legal and psychosocial services in the CAR," said Charu Lata Hogg, Director, All Survivors Project. "These arise not only because men are reluctant to come forward but because CAR faces serious funding shortages in its humanitarian response, which impacts sexual violence services for both men and women."

All Survivors Project was formed in December 2016 as an independent research project embedded in the Williams Institute and the Health and Human Rights Law Project at UCLA School of Law. The Project provides research, advocacy and policy advice to improve the global response to every survivor of sexual violence in situations of conflict and displacement by documenting the much-neglected issue of sexual violence against men and boys. Aryeh Neier, president emeritus of the Open Society Foundations; Baroness Helena Kennedy QC, Principal Mansfield College, University of Oxford and Prof Manfred Nowak, Professor of International Human Rights at the University of Vienna are among the Project’s Board of Advisors.

"Our research reinforces the need to adopt strategies that respond specifically to the needs of male survivors of sexual violence, and to integrate such approaches into international and national response efforts," said Andrew Park, International Program Director of the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, who is featured in the video.

Lara Stemple, Director of the Health and Human Rights Law Project at UCLA School of Law, notes that "sexual violence remains a weapon of war in conflicts throughout the world, used to terrorize and humiliate the opposition. We can no longer ignore male victims if we are to address this form of cruelty comprehensively."

All Survivors Project is supported by the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation, the UK’s Foreign & Commonwealth Office, the Principality of Liechtenstein and UNHCR. The Project has staff in Los Angeles and London. All Survivors Project received Institutional Review Board approvals to commence its research on the CAR in August 2017. The research will be published in a report early next year.

The Williams Institute, a think tank on sexual orientation and gender identity law and public policy, is dedicated to conducting rigorous, independent research with real-world relevance.