As 2017 marks the 50th year of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) the groups said in a statement: What is there to celebrate when sexual violence persists with impunity in Southeast Asia over 50 years?

Reported sexual violence has risen in six countries ­across ASEAN, according to the Weaving Women’s Voices in Southeast Asia (WEAVE) network report “Coming out of the dark: Pursuing access to justice in cases of sexual violence against girls in ASEAN.”

 These include Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines and Thailand.

 In Timor-Leste, rates of violence against women, in particular violence from an intimate partner, are high.

 Findings from an Asia Foundation report found that almost 60 per cent of Timorese women aged 15-49 years who had been in an intimate relationship with a man reported having experienced some form of physical and/or sexual violence by a male partner in their lifetime.

 Almost half reported reported that they had experienced this violence in the past12 months.

  “It is as if sexual violence is being made invisible in ASEAN. Authoritarianism among ASEAN governments is rising, the culture of impunity and misogyny are intensifying, making access to justice more and more elusive. This is especially true for cases of sexual violence against women and girls,” said Jelen Paclarin of WEAVE,

Paclarin said silence needed to end against endemic sexual violence.

 The group also expressed concern about increased trafficking and exploitation of women under the proposed ASEAN’s 2025 vision that sought to open free movement between member states.