MYANMAR
History
Early 1800s
1824
1885
1930
1931
1939
1945
1948
Colonial Britain began clashing with Burma’s weakened monarchy
First Anglo-Bermese war, which resulted in the British gaining control of specific Bermese territories. This was the first of 3 Anglo-Bermese wars. However, by the end of this war, Burma was indebted to Britain and could not pay the debt back.
Final Anglo-Bermese war.
The British took economic and political control of Burma. They removed the Burmese king, who had been the unifying religious and political centre of Burmese society. The King’s removal resulted in the fragmentation of Burmese society.
Local groups began separately fighting the British. In response, the British adopted harsh methods to quell uprisings amongst the rural population. They also created ‘British Burma’ to fill the cultural, political and religious vacuum created by the loss of the Monarch.
Certain ethnic groups saw a chance to raise their social and financial status by aligning with the British and embracing British culture. However, assimilation was uneven. Ethnic groups that were geographically further from the capital, were not as exposed to British Burma’s new way of being.
New ways of connection formed between urban reformists, Buddhist political associations and rural communities, which birthed a nationalist movement.
The rise of the nationalist movement coincided with the Great Depression leading to widespread attacks on symbols of colonial power in Burma.
Japan’s interest in Burma grew and they started making connections with Burmese activists and media.
With Japan’s help, the BIA defeated the British.
Myanmar (formerly Burma) gained independence from the British. However, the new government inherited a deeply divided nation. The government soon had to defend against insurgents.
The government’s proposal to officially make Buddhism the state religion further alienated some ethnic groups - who threatened to secede.
The Japanese began training the Burmese army in military tactics, demolition, patriotism, and organizational strategy. They also helped create the Burma Independent Army (BIA).
1962
The military staged a coup and attempted to centralize the Burmese identity. However, the army soon handed voting power back to civilians.
1964
The military staged another coup. It ruled Myanmar as the Revolutionary Council.
1974
The civilian government is institutionalized under a new constitution. It embraced the Burmese Way to Socialism.
1980s
The government had garnered a reputation for poorly managing the state’s finances. This perception was bolstered by the state demonitizing the currency, the decreasing price of rice and timber, as well as putting an end to the black market that citizens used to get items. Myanmar was eventually named the Least Developed Country by the UN.
1988
Protests erupted. The military violently crushed these protests and staged another coup.
2008
2010
The military passed new election laws and held general elections.
2016 - 2017
The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army led attacks against Myanmar’s military and police outposts
Mayanmar’s army responded to these attacks with brutal, indiscriminate crackdowns.
2020
The NLD, the main opposing party, won the general election.
The military staged a coup, calling the results fraudulent. They instituted martial law in response.
2021
They instituted martial law in response to widespread protests - using torture, lethal force, and curfews to silence dissidents.
Resistance fighters and ethnic armies rose up against the military’s rule.
2026
The Myanmar Civil War is one of the longest-running civil wars in history. It has killed over 100,000 people and displaced more than 5.2 million.
The military drafted a new constitution, that grants the military a significant share of power.
Takeaways
The systemic nature of the military’s use of sexual violence has been a recurring tactic throughout this civil war.
Ethnicity and patriarchal cultural norms determine where, how, and when CRSV is deployed.
The highest areas of military occupation are in ethnic areas
Survivors reported their perpetrators using degrading ethnic insults and slurs while assaulting them.
CRSV has been used as an attempted strategy to permanently drive out ethnic minorities from their homes.
Forced conscription has been a driver of different forms of CRSV.
The military is using the People’s Military Service Law to conscript men aged 18-65 and women aged 18-27.
The military’s coercive tactics include:
Arrests
Abductions
Detention of family members
The military’s recruitment of child soldiers has surged.
In 2023, the UN verified over 1100 children who had been recruited as child soldiers.
The resistance forces and the ethnic armed groups have also been responsible for rapes that have occurred.
Women and the 2SLGBTQI+ communities are particularly vulnerable.
Lack of finances has played a pivotal role in many survivor’s decision to not seek care.
Ethnic Groups
Myanmar is predominantly
68% Bamars
Largest ethnic group in Myanmar
Primary religion is Theravada Buddhism
32% of Burmese people belong to different ethnic groups:
9% Shan
7% Karen
4% Rakhine
the Rohingya predominantly live in the north part of Rakhine State.
They are the world’s largest stateless people as the Myanmar government has a longstanding policy of not recognizing them as citizens.
The Myanmar government’s decision was based on the belief that the Rohingya only settled in Burma after the British occupation.
3% Chinese
2% Indian
2% Mon
5% other
Besides Theravada Buddhism, the other major religions in Myanmar include:
Islam
Christianity
Hinduism
Animism
Each ethnic group has its own distinct culture, religion, and language.
There are extreme tensions between Buddhist nationalists and Islamic groups.
Actors in Civil War
The Myanmar Military
Function from the belief that they are the guardians of Buddhist society.
They want to preserve Bamar culture while absorbing the ethnic minorities into one state hierarchical system.
People’s Defence Force
Resistance group led by the National Unity Government, a shadow government of Myanmar lawmakers who were removed from office by the 2020 military coup.
Ethnic Armed Groups
Many different ethnic groups have risen against the military.
However, these groups tend to act in isolation.
Cultural Norms
Myanmar society is patriarchal; it is socially conservative and male-dominated.
Men are seen as physically, spiritually, and materially superior to women and children.
This view is reinforced by hpon, the spiritual protection given to men.
Especially in more conservative rural areas, women are viewed as their husband’s property.
Abuse, including domestic violence, is seen as a private affair.
Violence can be viewed as a corrective tool used by a husband against his wife.
Women are blamed for incidents of abuse.
Prior to martial law being instituted, violence against women was so normalized that many women and girls no longer believed reporting abuse made a difference.
Health System
The military’s use of airstrikes, drone attacks, and indiscriminate shelling of medical facilities has destroyed many healthcare facilities in Myanmar.
These attacks have disproportionately affected ethnic minorities who are already geographically isolated.
These attacks have made going to the nearest clinic extremely unsafe, and unaffordable.
Local Women’s Health Organizations are typically the only service providers who can support survivors.
However, the military’s crackdown on these brave women has made care increasingly hard to come by.
The junta has also increased its blockages of humanitarian aid.
In 2025, humanitarian organizations reported 685 incidents where the junta blocked humanitarian aid.
These factors have increased malnutrition, waterborne illness, and preventable deaths.
Justice System
Despite there being a rape law that punishes those convicted of up to 10 years in prison - the law has severe limitations:
Prior to martial law, women who reported sexual violence could be sued for impugning the dignity of the accused.
People could be detained without access to lawyers, family members or without the regime confirming their locations.
Under Martial Law, the Myanmar military has largely ignored the limited protections for women in Burma law.
They instituted special closed courts inside prisons for quick resolutions to politically sensitive cases.
Lawyers and activists have been specifically targeted by the junta - making it dangerous to help survivors:
They have faced threats, arrest, and prosecution.
They have also placed restrictions on lawyers.
Crimes against women, especially rape are rarely investigated:
Those that are tried in military court - lack transparency
These closed tribunals are geared towards protecting soldiers
Defendants typically will be convicted - regardless of the presence of corroborating evidence
However, martial law courts trials are tried in public:
Defendants have very little to no rights.
They do not have to be informed of the charges against them.
They do not have access to lawyers, or the right to appeal (unless their case has a death penalty).
Hearings are done quickly.
Cases are decided in 1-2 sessions.
They are typically sentenced under the maximum penalty.
Myanmar is not a party to the Rome Statute.
Sexual violence is a hallmark of this conflict.
It is used as a form of control, terror, and humiliation.
Women are often subjected to rape, gang-rape, sexualized torture, forced nudity and mutilation.
Survivor accounts highlight the intentional cruelty behind these rapes.
Women in custody are subject to rampant torture, sexual and gender-based violence.
In prisons, interrogation centers, military bases, and other detention sites there are reports of:
rape, beatings, prolonged stress positions, burnings of genitals, sexual humiliation, and invasive body searches etc.
Prisons are reportedly overcrowded and prisoners have little access to necessities like food, water, and medical access.
Due to forced conscription taking their husbands, brothers, and sons, many women are left financially vulnerable - forced into human trafficking, forced prostitution, and/or exploitative marriages.
Intimate Partner Violence has also skyrocketed during this conflict.
Role of CRSV
How To Help
Local Women’s Health Organizations require:
Funding
Sustainable resources
A list of Women’s Health Organizations in Myanmar:
Rakhaing Women’s Initiative Organization (RWIO) m
Women’s Peace Network
Women’s Organizations Network of Myanmar