Country: Myanmar

Group: Mon

Date Finalized: 11/02/2021 

Team: Analisa Jimenez (Lead), Omer Carrillo, Amanda Nelson, Kamaria Boyston, Elizabeth Ardila

The Mon comprise a population of 4-8 million in Myanmar and are classified as a minority ethnic group (Minority Rights Group, 2015). The Myanmar army has committed sexual assault against Mon females (Apple & Martin, 2003), including gang rape, coerced sex, forced marriage and sexual slavery, and inflicted severe acts of sexual violence such as mutilation, as a form of state sanctioned violence. Refugees International discovered that there were forty-three instances of either attempted rape or rape, with twenty-three cases confirmed via eyewitness testimony and/or physical evidence, with the majority occurring on military property. Eight Myanmar military officers were confirmed as perpetrators of sexual assault against Mon women (Apple & Martin, 2003). Rapes of Mon victims occurred while farming, incarcerated  at military camps, while performing forced labor, and during migration (Apple & Martin, 2003). A more recent report documented 61 cases of sexual violence against Mon women and children in 2017, with forty-four of the cases having a child victim (Humans Rights Foundation of Monland, 2018). These violations have led to mass Mon migrations to Thailand where they are given refugee status and able to seek mental and physical help associated with the sexual assault and trauma experienced (Minority Rights, 2021).

               The quality of this data ranks as a 3 as there is clear evidence of sexual assault of Mon in Myanmar. Sources are reputable government, public and primary sources.

Sources

  1. Apple, B., & Martin, V. (March, 2003). No safe place – refworld. Refugee International. https://www.refworld.org/pdfid/47a6eb9a0.pdf
  2. Human Rights Foundation of Monland and Women and Child Rights Project. (2018, July 25). ‘A girl’s life was destroyed”: Sexual violence against children continues to rise in Mon State and mon areas of southern burma. Progressive Voice Myanmar. https://progressivevoicemyanmar.org/2018/07/25/a-girls-life-was-destroyed-sexual-violence-against-children-continues-to-rise-in-mon-state-and-mon-areas-of-southern-burma/
  3. Minority Rights Group. Mon. (Feb. 5, 2021).      https://minorityrights.org/minorities/mon 
  4. Phyu Phyu Oo, S. E. D. (June 28, 2021). Supporting the victims of sexual violence in Myanmar. The Interpreter. https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/supporting-victims-sexual-violence-myanmar