A report released by the Women's League of Burma (WLB) on February 1 revealed that 209 cases of sexual and gender-based violence against women were recorded in Myanmar in 2025.

WLB's ‘Looking back on 2025’ report highlighted the impact of ongoing and worsening armed conflicts, as well as political, economic, and humanitarian crises, on women.

According to the report, domestic violence was the most common form of abuse, with incidents of rape, sexual assault, harassment, human trafficking, forced marriage, and cyberbullying also reported.

“Among the 209 cases, most happened in Bago, Sagaing, and Tanintharyi regions, as well as in Chin, Kachin, Karen, Karenni, Mon, and Shan states. The numbers were especially high in areas affected by armed conflicts,” Pho Dar, spokesperson for the WLB told KIC.

In the five years since the coup, the junta has increased attacks on displaced communities in conflict zones, driving more people from their homes and exposing displaced women to heightened risks of sexual harassment, she added.

The report said WLB also provided assistance to internally displaced people (IDPs); participants of the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), an anti-coup campaign in which civil servants and security personnel refuse to work for the regime; women human rights defenders (WHRDs); survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV); and survivors of conflict-related sexual violence.

On the other hand, WLB acknowledged that significant cuts in international aid have limited its ability, or forced it to reduce assistance for women, children, and the elderly displaced by the conflict.

The WLB also urged the international community to reject the junta's recently held sham election, hold perpetrators accountable through international justice, enforce arms embargoes, protect women human rights defenders, and end impunity for perpetrators of violence against women and children.

Data compiled by WLB and previously reported in 2024 also showed that 963 cases of sexual violence were committed by the junta in the first four years following the coup.

WLB was established on December 9, 1999 with the aim of increasing the participation of women in the struggle for democracy and human rights, promoting women’s participation in the national peace and reconciliation process, and enhancing the role of the women of Myanmar at the national and international level.