Bylines & Frontlines Episode 5: CRSV - Prevention and Protection

📌 Content note: This episode discusses sexual violence and atrocities. Listener discretion is advised. Recorded during the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, this episode of Bylines & Frontlines confronts one of the most pervasive yet under-addressed crimes of modern conflict: conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV). CRSV is not incidental. It is not inevitable. And it is not a by-product of chaos. As our guests make clear, sexual violence is planned, enabled, and weaponized—used deliberately to terrorize populations, fracture communities, clear territory, discipline armed groups, and, in some cases, advance genocidal intent. In this episode, we explore: CRSV as a tactic and weapon How sexual violence functions as a low-cost, high-impact weapon targeting the human and moral terrain of societies—from Tigray to Ukraine and beyond. Early warning signs and patterns Why mass sexual violence is rarely spontaneous, how it can be detected early, and why failure to act is often a matter of political and operational choice—not lack of information. The military’s role and responsibility From armed forces as first responders, to force protection, to the hard truth of preventing perpetration within one’s own ranks—this conversation examines command responsibility, accountability, and prevention. Children born of war A population rendered invisible by stigma, silence, and policy gaps. We discuss who these children are, why they remain excluded from reparations frameworks, and what governments and international institutions owe them. Survivors, justice, and recognition Including emerging efforts—such as survivor-informed reparations models—that challenge the historical failure to acknowledge sexual violence as a core international crime. Featuring: Emily Prey — Director of the Mass Atrocities & International Law Portfolio and the Gender Policy Portfolio at the New Lines Institute Lieutenant Colonel Melanie Lake, MSM, CD — Canadian Armed Forces; former Commander, Operation UNIFIER; NATO gender leadership expert Commander Tyson Nicholas, RAN — Strategic Military Advisor, UN Women Hosted by: Riel Erickson