Published on October 1, 2018 

This is the sixth of a series of quarterly reports from the Nepal Peace Monitoring Project (PMP). The PMP uses a methodology similar to NepalMonitor.org’s alert and mapping system, with a focus on gathering information on violence and political contestation. The PMP’s goal is to improve our understanding of violence in Nepal to better respond to it and promote peace. 

Summary: 

For the second quarter of 2018, the PMP recorded 776 incidents (561 of them violent and 215 non-violent incidents of protests, public contestation, or threats). A total of 112 people were killed in violence and 182 cases of rape/attempted rape recorded. This marks a slight decrease from the 789 incidents and 114 deaths in the previous quarter but an increase in rape/ attempted rape by 9 percent. 

As in the past, gender based violence (GBV) and personal disputes continued to be the main drivers of violent deaths, killing 49 and 33 people respectively. The most common forms of GBV were sexual assault with 194 and domestic violence with 41 incidents. Nine incidents related to abuse following dowry demands, in which five women were killed. In eight incidents women were attacked following accusations of witchcraft. Similarly, 17 cases of violence or discrimination against Dalits were recorded, injuring eight people. The majority of non-violent contestation and public protests (90 percent) related to issues of governance, politics and the economy this quarter. The involvement of cadres of Communist Party of Nepal (CPN [Chand]) is suspected in violent activities and public protests, although the number of incidents recorded with their involvement fell by 29 percent in this quarter. As protests regarding the location of provincial capitals subsided, the second quarter saw a significant drop in incidents related to federal and local level restructuring (from 69 in Quarter One to 4 incidents in Quarter Two). 

Four bandhs were recorded in Quarter Two. On May 5, CPN (Chand) declared a bandh in response to the arrest of several of its leaders and on May 13 declared another bandh, this time protesting the Indian Prime Minister’s visit. On June 20 and 25, CPN (Chand) called for a bandh in Rasuwa and enforced an indefinite educational strike in Chitwan demanding the release of their cadres.