Conflict-Related Sexual Violence in Central Myanmar after the 2021 Coup

Nilar Myaing 
(Program Consultant, Sandhi Governance Institute)
March 9, 2026

I. Background

The UN Secretary-General’s 2025 report^[1] on CRSV identifies Myanmar as one of the countries with credible allegations of widespread and systematic sexual violence, linking its prevalence to the collapse of the rule of law and entrenched impunity. The Women’s League of Burma has further argued that sexual violence is systematically used by the junta as a weapon of war, targeting women, girls, and LGBTQI communities.^[2] Conflict-related sexual violence committed by both the military and non-state actors has long been documented in ethnic areas, but its emergence in the central Burman regions of Sagaing, Magway, and Mandalay Divisions, the core strongholds of the Spring Revolution, is a new and troubling phenomenon.^[3] Historically, these areas experienced fewer armed conflicts compared to peripheral ethnic states, where militarization and gender-based violence had been entrenched for decades.^[4]

Since the coup, however, the surge in armed resistance and military offensives has extended patterns of sexual violence into central regions, where communities are often less prepared to confront such abuses. According to Equality Myanmar’s 2025 report, there were over 150 documented cases of CRSV affecting more than 320 victims between 2021 and 2024, with nearly 90% attributed to the Myanmar military.^[5] Survivors reported rape, gang rape, torture, and sexual harassment, with many facing threats, detention, or even execution following sexual assault, forcing them into silence and preventing further action. However, even these figures are likely to understate the true scale of the problem as human rights defenders struggle to access information amid fear and insecurity.

II. What Is Happening?

Interviews with women leaders and civil society organizations (CSOs) since late 2021 indicate isolated incidents of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), many of which remain unresolved amid escalating conflict. One incident involved a married woman who was raped and became pregnant in Pale Township, Yinmabin District, Sagaing Division. She faced severe stigma within her family and community, and no follow-up was documented. Another incident occurred at a military checkpoint in Monywa, Sagaing Division, where a young couple selling vegetables were accused of being PDFs. The woman was raped in front of her husband and subsequently killed. The husband, who was released after witnessing the assault, later died by suicide. CSOs cited this incident during interviews conducted in 2022 as an evidence of the deteriorating rule of law. Limited media coverage and documentation appear linked to fear of military retaliation and concerns that reporting would result in further harm without access to justice.

In Kani Township, Yinmabin District, Sagaing Division, CSOs reported that soldiers raped several women aged between 14 and 35 during large-scale operations in which internet and phone lines were cut. One such violation only came to light when a survivor sought contraception from a health worker in a village on the eastern bank of the Chindwin River. Another involved a 40-year-old woman with a mental illness who was separated from her parents and raped during a sudden raid, as approximately 100 villagers had no time to flee.^[6]

Like airstrikes against civilians, these acts appear to form part of a broader strategy of terror, signaling that individuals perceived to support the resistance may face multiple forms of violence, including sexual violence. This pattern was also reported during joint military operations with the allied Shanni Nationalities Army in August 2024, when troops detained around 140 villagers in a monastery. According to a resident who later escaped in October 2024, several women were raped while in detention.^[7]

Since early 2025, reports of sexual violence have increased. Field staff present in the area shared information on CRSV reported in Kantbalu Township, Sagaing Division, between 23 and 26 June.^[8]  While media outlets covered killings and the burning of houses during these operations, they were unable to confirm sexual violence due to survivors’ and families’ reluctance to cooperate. At least 25 to 30 women who had been arrested were raped by military troops and Pyu Saw Htee militia, though most remained silent due to shame. One woman was gang-raped in front of her husband in exchange for his life; he later suffered a mental breakdown, according to the witness. In August 2025, field staff verified the death of a 70-year-old woman from Htein Taw village who was raped and strangled.^[9] This incident shows that the vulnerability of women to CRSV during military operations now extends even to the elderly.

CSO leaders from Mandalay Division reported that sexual violence has also targeted young men and LGBT persons. Survivors described rape and assault by soldiers, interrogators, and junta-aligned police. According to an interviewed lawyer, a student union leader arrested in Mandalay was raped and mutilated during detention. In another account, a transgender youth activist was tortured, including having her breasts burned with cigarettes while suspended from the ceiling, before being placed in a prison cell with male inmates. Survivors frequently received no medical care during prison transfers, and a journalist who later fled testified to being raped while in custody.^[10] CSOs in Magway further reported that women, including elderly women, were groped at checkpoints, acts normalized under the pretext of “body searches.” Those who resist risk arrest or further sexual violence, reinforcing an atmosphere of intimidation and fear. In mixed-control areas of Sagaing Division, abuses at military checkpoints were reported to be even more severe, sometimes leading to arrest or killing.

While the majority of reported CRSV in central Myanmar has been committed by the military and its affiliates, some incidents involving revolutionary forces have also been reported.^[11] In early September 2025, a local PDF member raped a 12-year-old girl in Wetlet Township, Shwebo District, Sagaing Division. Villagers subsequently staged protests demanding that the NUG impose the death penalty on the perpetrator. ^[12]

III. The Persistence of CRSV

Despite occasional research and media reports, CRSV in central Myanmar remains severely underreported. Survivors’ reluctance, community silence, and disrupted follow-up leave documenters, media, CSOs, and authorities with fragmented or unverified information. This raises a central question for this briefing: what prevents CRSV cases in these emerging conflict-affected areas from being effectively documented or addressed?

Shame, Stigma, and Social Pressure

Deeply rooted social norms make disclosure nearly impossible. Survivors describe “extreme shame” and are reluctant to recount their traumatic experiences, as many interview participants emphasized. Families fear dishonor and worry about community backlash. Victim-blaming is widespread, and women leaders often observe that women themselves are the loudest gossipers, further silencing survivors. Some local leaders even encourage families of child rape survivors to accept small financial “compensations” instead of pursuing justice, using the excuse that rule of law is impossible in wartime. Such practices foster impunity and increase the risk of repeated crimes.

Lack of Safe and Comprehensive Survivor Support

According to interviewed women leaders, although they have received basic psychosocial first aid training, they could not share any real experience of supporting survivors. Healthcare facilities capable of confidential evidence collection are limited, poorly known, or unsafe to access in conflict-affected areas. While survivors may seek emergency contraception or immediate medical care, many are unable to continue with physical or psychosocial follow-up because they are often unaware of what care is needed, lack proper information, or have never been informed or educated about available services. Safe houses are few and unevenly accessible, and without dependable protection, many survivors do not feel safe enough to disclose their experiences.

Sexual Violence as War Tactic

Sexual violence is systematically used in the junta’s detention centers and during military offensives, including by military-backed ethnic armed groups. These practices, which include rape during interrogations, gang rapes during raids, and forcing families or husbands to witness assaults, are intended to terrorize communities, inflict lasting trauma, and collectively punish areas perceived to support the resistance. Such acts amount to war crimes and can constitute crimes against humanity when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack against civilian populations. United Nations Security Council Resolution 1820 (2008)[13] affirms that rape and other forms of sexual violence can constitute a war crime, a crime against humanity, or an act contributing to genocide. Yet despite these legal prohibitions, the military operates with total impunity, leaving survivors with no realistic avenue for justice. In a context shaped by cultural taboos and gendered expectations, this lack of accountability further compounds the silence.

Justice in Crisis

Perpetrators within law enforcement under the military regime have been systematically violating international human rights obligations, particularly the ICCPR’s requirements^[14] on the right to an effective remedy, the prohibition of torture and sexual violence, and access to justice. They also violate international humanitarian law, which explicitly prohibits rape and other forms of sexual violence in armed conflict. These actors operate without consequence. Corruption within law enforcement is rampant, and police frequently refuse to open cases involving the military or its affiliates.

The Ministry of Justice under the revolutionary government has established township courts and prosecution offices through local administration (PaAhPha), but limited qualified personnel and serious security risks, such as the airstrike in Pale Township that killed a judge and civilians, undermine basic standards of judicial independence and fair trial rights. Makeshift prisons in NUG-controlled areas face similar constraints; inmates are moved during military operations, and attempted escapes endanger staff, causing many cases to be settled through mediation or financial compensation, even though sexual violence cannot be addressed in this way.

International principles, including United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1820 and 1960, prohibit mediation or informal settlements for CRSV and require impartial investigations.^[15] Communities report that cases involving ordinary civilians are resolved faster, while those implicating NUG-affiliated perpetrators are often delayed or left unresolved, and survivors of assaults by revolutionary forces also describe little action taken. Although the NUG has taken action in some cases, many offenders within non-state armed groups remain unaccountable, and growing complaints highlight inconsistent justice outcomes. Survivors, particularly when the perpetrators belong to armed groups, fear retaliation, meaning that access to justice and fair trial guarantees remains severely limited even in NUG-administered areas.

IV. Actions Taken by the Revolutionary Side

Over the four years of the revolution, the revolutionary government, often responding to pressure from communities, has taken some visible steps to hold its own members accountable. In several cases, local authorities and the Ministry of Defense cooperated to arrest members of their own forces and hand them over to the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Human Rights for investigation. PDF units, local defense forces, and administrators have also begun receiving training on laws relating to gender-based violence (GBV) and the corresponding punishments. At the community level, authorities stress that all villagers, young or old and including women with disabilities, should immediately take shelter whenever military movements are reported.

Human rights defenders, women leaders, and CSOs in Mandalay, Magway, and Sagaing Divisions have been trained in ethical CRSV documentation, and some women and LGBT leaders have strengthened their skills in psychosocial first aid. They have also received training on applying survivor-centered approaches, ensuring that survivors themselves choose what to disclose and which justice options to pursue. Women leaders continue advocacy at local, regional, and international levels, and provide human rights, gender, and GBV awareness to communities, revolutionary forces, and local authorities, although their efforts remain constrained by stereotypes, security risks, and scarce resources.

V. Urgent Measures for Protection and Accountability

To close the serious gaps in how CRSV is understood and addressed within both communities and armed groups, urgent and context-appropriate protection measures are needed to reduce the risks that survivors and frontline responders face.

Firstly, it is necessary to have a safe and comfortable space for survivors for their necessary healthcare assistance, to be able to speak safely, without fear of retaliation, stigma, or further harm. This requires clear and trusted reporting channels, confidential psychosocial assistance, and guaranteed anonymity for those who disclose, delivered through hotlines and services provided by well-trained healthcare personnel and counsellors supported by the respective ministries under the revolutionary government. Due to ongoing internet and phone disruptions, information about available services must be shared carefully through trusted community networks in ways that do not compromise safety.

Secondly, local or international NGOs could train youth, community leaders, and local authorities as champions or change agents to challenge harmful gender norms, reduce victim-blaming practices, and strengthen community-based prevention.

Thirdly, women leaders and human rights defenders also require strong protection mechanisms, as they continue to face intimidation and surveillance from both state and non-state actors. Survivor-centered practices from other conflict settings should be adapted for use in central Myanmar, including safe disclosure protocols, ethical documentation standards, and pathways for future transitional justice. There are some ethnic women’s organizations in areas controlled by ethnic revolutionary organizations, and they can provide substantive support to women’s groups from central Myanmar. These efforts must be accompanied by long-term solidarity and technical support for women’s groups and grassroots networks, whose role is essential yet chronically under-resourced.

And last but not least, the revolutionary government should adopt and enforce binding policies and codes of conduct on GBV and CRSV across all PDFs, local PDFs (PaKaPha), local administrations (PaAhPha), and local security forces (PaLaPha); apply accountability uniformly regardless of rank, unit, or political affiliation; and publicly communicate disciplinary actions to help rebuild community trust.

VI. Conclusion

CRSV in central Myanmar is not an isolated occurrence but part of a wider pattern of militarized governance, systemic impunity, and enforced silence. In conflict settings, women face heightened vulnerability because social burdens fall on their shoulders to navigate economic hardship, displacement, and persistent gender inequality, alongside the fear and uncertainty created when husbands and sons join the revolution or flee conscription. Many have lost homes to arson, family members to military violence, and continue to live with profound trauma. Survivors remain quiet due to shame, stigma, and the absence of safe reporting options, while perpetrators operate without consequence. Without urgent and coordinated action that strengthens prevention, survivor support, accountability mechanisms, and efforts to challenge gender norms, survivors will continue to suffer in silence and both military and non-state actors will remain unrestrained.

Notes