A government delegation headed by Deputy Foreign Minister U Thant Kyaw is attending the summit and members of Myanmar civil society and religious organisations are also participating in the four-day event, which opened on June 10.

The summit is being co-hosted British Foreign Minister William Hague and United Nations Special Envoy for Refugees, Angelina Jolie.

The summit is expected to launch an international protocol for documenting and investigating sexual violence in conflict and hopes to encourage countries to strengthen their laws to enable prosecutions.

Activities held in Yangon to coincide with the summit included an event at the British ambassador's residence on June 10.

Ambassador Andrew Patrick joined civil society and youth groups to release 100 balloons at the event, to demonstrate solidarity with the victims of sexual violence.

Speaking at the event, Kachin Women's Peace Network member Dr San Oo welcomed the decision to hold the summit, saying it would help raise awareness about sexual violence in conflict and enable victims to speak out.

 “We were not able to speak up publicly like this before about issues like sexual violence in conflict,” Dr San Oo said.

“We didn’t know who was listening and we were afraid of repercussions as we had a lot to be scared about.”

On June 6, Myanmar became the 150th country to sign the UN Declaration of Commitment to End Sexual Violence since the document was launched last September.

Sexual violence in conflict was known to be widespread in Myanmar but it was difficult to obtain data, UNICEF country representative Bertrand Bainvel said.

“It is an issue that is difficult to get any data or systematic reporting so it makes it even more difficult to act upon,” Mr Bainvel said.

“Here in Myanmar, we have to rely on anecdotal reports and evidence which of course are easy to be contradicted by people who would like to say the issue does not exist,” he said.

In a statement released on June 10, the British embassy said it would fund a project by Action Aid Myanmar to improve access to justice for women who had been victims of sexual violence. The project would also establish mechanisms to prevent and respond to sexual violence.

The statement said Britain would also work with non-government groups dealing with rape cases that provide trauma care at camps in Kachin State and legal aid to Myanmar in refugee camps in Thailand.