Little has been done to hold the perpetrators of sexual violence during the ten-year-long Maoist conflict accountable in Nepal, says an in-depth research on sexual violence and impunity.

The study titled ‘A Difficult Transition: The Nepal’ edited by Mandira Sharma and Seira Tamang and coordinated by Zubaan, Delhi with support from Canda-based International Development Research Centre (IDRC) points out how the political elite during transition period overrode legal judgements in the name of peace process and consensus.

The research volume was released by scholar Dr Meena Acharya at an event in the Capital on Wednesday.

Authors of the just-launched volume argue that impunity that was exacerbated during civil strife must be situated in the history of an exclusionary state built on structured inequalities and power relations.

“Indeed, there seems to be greater scope to be held liable for the killing of a cow than for a woman survivor of rape and torture to obtain justice in Nepal,” reads the finding, “While Nepal has often led the way in South Asia on legal reform related to women’s rights, challenges remain, for example, the former 35-day limitation period (just recently amended to six months) on reporting complaints of rape to the police is central to bolstering impunity to perpetrators.”

The research volume documents testimonies and field research and analysis, conflict and post-conflict challenges of justice for sexual violence victims.

At a broader level, the research, which comprises 50 papers, covers five countries – Pakistan, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka – of South Asia. It systematically reveals the layers of impunity sheltered in culture and legal processes, in medical and forensic practices, and shows how it is strengthened by states with the active collusion of non-state actors.