Gendered war crimes have been the hallmark of Da’esh who have kidnapped women, published entire doctrines on the use of sex slaves, and thrown LGBTQI people off rooftops for their sexuality. Rape is being used as a tactic of war, as a constituent of genocide and in crimes against humanity.

There needs to be justice for those crimes.

You can make a difference.

With such a large number of foreign fighters perpetrating these crimes, we have an unprecedented opportunity to end impunity for sexual violence in armed conflict. More than 30,000 foreign fighters that swelled the ranks of Daesh and other extremist organisations in Iraq and Syria last year.

In countries such as France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity are outlawed in domestic legislation.  Finland and Sweden have already bought cases against their nationals.

In Australia, genocide is outlawed under the Genocide Convention Act. War crimes are criminal offences under the Geneva Conventions Act and the War Crimes Act which have been incorporated in Division 268 of the Criminal Code Act. But these laws don’t get used. Investigations and prosecutions need to be bought against Australians who have perpetrated these crimes.

There are three things you can do right now to help bring justice for these crimes:

1. Sign the petition calling on the minister to provide the resources and request the investigations.
2. Write to your local MP asking them to raise the issue in their party room
3. Schedule a meeting with your local MP to discuss the issue