The Scars of the War

“Help us live with dignity, not just survive” opens a 14 August 2025 report from the Office of the Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict. In this talk, photojournalist María Ximena Borrazás Cataldo examines sexual violence as a tactic of war, torture, terrorism and repression, drawing on the United Nations Secretary General’s sixteenth report that records more than 4,600 survivors in 2024 across 21 countries, with women the vast majority.

The presentation turns to the Tigray region in northern Ethiopia. Following an escalation between the Ethiopian central government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front on 4 November 2020, the conflict has been described by multiple observers as among the bloodiest of the twenty first century. Referencing findings cited by legal and human rights organisations, María Ximena outlines the reported toll over two years, including large scale displacement, widespread killings, and the systematic use of sexual violence. Throughout, she foregrounds survivor dignity, verification, and the responsibilities of visual journalists working in highly sensitive contexts.

What you will take away:
• Ethical field methods for documenting conflict related sexual violence with survivor safety, consent, and anonymisation at the core
• Practical approaches to verification and cross checking with legal, medical, and humanitarian sources
• Strategies for publishing sensitive work responsibly, from captioning and risk assessment to newsroom duty of care and long term impact

Who this is for:
• Photojournalists, filmmakers, and editors engaged in human rights and conflict reporting
• Students, researchers, and educators in journalism, international relations, and law
• NGO communicators, advocates, and curators seeking rigorous and compassionate visual evidence