S/2017/249 such as child marriage. The effect of sexual violence employed as a tactic of war or terrorism is to spread fear among the civilian population, with a range of economic consequences, including facilitating the capture of land and property by forcibly displacing residents, with high levels of sexual violence seen during flight and in displacement settings. In addition, this fear restricts women’s freedom of movement to continue vital economic activities. The suppression of women’s employment and education increases their risk of being exposed to sexual violence, whereas economically empowered women have been shown to provide a buffer against the recruitment and radicalization of their children and other family members and thus against widening and repeating cycles of violence. Livelihood support and structurally transformative reparations can help to break the cyclical connection between poverty and sexual violence. However, despite being the m easures that survivors themselves most often demand, they are precisely those least seen in responses to date. 14. Although the challenges remain daunting, convictions remain rare and new protection crises continue to emerge, the paradigm has shifted. Sexu al violence is no longer treated as merely a by-product of insecurity, but rather as a significant form of insecurity in itself. The era of silence at the level of national and international institutions has given way to a sense of urgency to bring all the tools of diplomacy to bear on the issue. There is greater knowledge today than ever before about what works to prevent and deter this scourge, following operational engagements with a range of justice and security actors. Specific, time -bound commitments have been adopted by State security forces in Côte d’Ivoire, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia and South Sudan, in accordance with resolutions 1960 (2010) and 2106 (2013). This includes: the issuance of orders through chains of command and the adoption of codes of conduct prohibiting sexual violence; the investigation of alleged incidents in order to hold perpetra tors accountable; the identification and release of those vulnerable to sexual violence from their ranks; the designation of high-level interlocutors to ensure implementation; and, in the case of police services, the formation of specialized units capable of addressing sexual violence. Notably, the measures taken by the Government of Côte d’Ivoire have resulted in the first delisting pursuant to this mandate, namely that of the Forces armées de Côte d’Ivoire. Continued monitoring and technical assistance will be required to consolidate these gains. To sustainably transform the culture of security institutions, consistent accountability is needed at all levels of the chain of command. Under these circumstances, the enforcement of justice has been shown to have a cascade effect, whereby the prosecution of past violations deters future crimes, particularly when combined with strategies of awareness-raising, education and training. 15. Other positive developments during the reporting period included the activation of the Informal Expert Group on Women and Peace and Security, which supports the implementation of Security Council resolutions 1325 (2000), 1820 (2008) and succeeding resolutions in the context of specific countries on the agenda of the Security Council’s. The Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, through its Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative, launched a campaign to tackle the stigma associated with sexual violence in conflict. Nadia Murad Basee Taha, who survived sexual enslavement by ISIL, was named United Nations Goodwill Ambassador for the Dignity of Survivors of Human Trafficking, 6/33 17-05090