Unsilenced: Sexual Violence in Conflict Exhibition at Imperial War Museums

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Unsilenced: Sexual Violence in Conflict - Exhibition at Imperial War Museums

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About the exhibition

Unsilenced: Sexual Violence in Conflict

We are incredibly proud to be partnering with Imperial War Museums on their upcoming exhibition, Unsilenced: Sexual Violence in Conflict.  

Sexual violence in conflict zones is a heavy and painful topic for many, which is why it's rarely spoken about. But silence leads to stigma, and that's exactly why this exhibition is so important. 

Imperial War Museums has curated a powerful exhibition, aimed at empowering survivors, informing visitors and contributing towards meaningful change in the fight against sexual violence in war. The exhibition tells the untold stories of child evacuees, victims of trafficking, prisoners of war, and survivors from the First World War to present-day conflicts.

Visitors will also learn how organisations including Women for Women International are supporting survivors to heal, recover and rebuild their lives.  

Unsilenced: Sexual Violence in Conflict will run at Imperial War Museum London from 23rd May - 2nd November 2025. Admission is free.

This exhibition includes cases of rape, sexual humiliation, torture and child abuse in conflict. Imperial War Museums advises that this exhibition is only suitable for those aged 16 or over. 

© Kim Changsu, Mansudae Art Studio, Pyongyang, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (Art.IWM PST 9379). Poster for the Women's International War Crimes Tribunal 2000, Tokyo, Japan.

📅 23rd May - 2nd November 2025

📍 Imperial War Museum, London

🎟️ Free entry

In war, rape is cheaper than a Kalashnikov bullet.

Christina Lamb, Journalist, Author of Our Bodies, Their Battlefields

In the press

22 MAY 2025 | BBC RADIO 4 WOMAN'S HOUR

From 30:58: A major new exhibition opens this week at The Imperial War Museum in London. Called Unsilenced: Sexual Violence in Conflict, it looks at the atrocities inflicted during war and conflict from the First World War until the present day. Helen Upcraft is the exhibition’s lead curator and Sara Bowcutt is the Managing Director of Women for Women International, one of the NGOs working in the field of sexual violence in conflict, who’ve also contributed to this exhibition. They join Anita Rani in the studio.


8 MARCH 2025 | FAD MAGAZINE 

This International Women’s Day, Imperial War Museums (IWM) announces full details of the UK’s first major exhibition dedicated to highlighting sexual violence in conflict. Six years in the making, Unsilenced: Sexual Violence in Conflict will open at IWM London, featuring Women for Women International's work with women survivors of war. 


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