Most
victims of modern armed conflict are innocent civilians. Women are particularly susceptible to harm in
the form of devastating sexual violence, which results in severe physical,
psychological and emotional consequences. Rape, trafficking, mutilation and
degradation are strategically used as weapons of war.
Acts of violence against women are weapons. Rape is common worldwide, but becomes more sinister and brutal during wartime. The act of rape and sexual degradation is about power and control and is often used during ethnic conflicts to gain control, break down communities and redraw ethnic boundaries.
Gita Sahgal, of Amnesty International explains, “Women are seen as the reproducers and carers of the community. Therefore if one group wants to control another they often do it by impregnating women of the other community because they see it as a way of destroying the opposing community.”
Communities affected by conflict hold onto traditional norms of women being virgins before marriage. Women belong only to their husbands. Extramarital sex and adultery are taboo. Subjugating these women to violent and repeated sexual acts is about more than physical gratification. Women that have been raped or abused during wartime are shunned by their communities, treated as dirty and unclean and turned out by husbands and family members, effectively breaking down the community.
Women are impregnated to carry ‘ethnically superior’ children or tortured and mutilated to prevent further reproduction. Girls are traded between soldiers or trafficked across borders. The perpetrators are often armed militia that have been formed locally. The victims may know their abusers. The facilitators may also be other women.
Effects of wartime rape include sexually transmitted diseases, ‘war babies’, shame in communities, and future health and psychological issues. The use of sexual violence as a weapon has been widespread in armed conflicts for many centuries with no recourse.
In 1993, the International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda (ICTY and ICTR) recognized rape and sexual violence as a Crime Against Humanity, and in 2001, Bosnian Serb soldiers Dragoljub Kunarac, Radomir Kovac and Zoran Vukovic were found guilty for the rape, enslavement, torture and ‘abuse of women’ at a ‘rape’camp’ in Foca, a small Bosnian village.
The case stands as a landmark victory, but it is not a win. Out of 50,000 rapes which occurred during the Bosnian conflict, only 12 have been prosecuted. For every incident that gets disclosed, many more go unreported. There are many reasons for this which lie in our own thoughts and feelings about sexual assault and sexual violence.
Rape culture is a concept used to define attitudes towards rape and sexual assault. Sexual violence is trivialized. Other behaviors include blaming the victim or even denying the incident ever happened. In Foca, the rape victims were taunted with cries of, “You liked it.” and “You don’t belong here. Go away.” when they went to commemorate the site of their nightmare.
Once a conflict ends, many states are unprepared or unwilling to apprehend and prosecute perpetrators of sexual violence. Victims share community space with the very people who were torturing them. Barriers for survivors to report the crime are significant. As human beings, we have an obligation to the victims of these crimes to erase the stigma of sexual assault and provide solutions.
Women are punished and shunned because they have tainted the ‘family honor’ Providing a safe place for these women to go is paramount. Shame is common amongst sexual assault victims. The stigma attached to rape is a strong one, and the psychological effects run deep. Victims need access to counseling services, an understanding person to speak with who will not judge or condemn them.
We must begin a dialogue about this issue. The stigma should be moved from the victims onto the perpetrators. The spotlight falls on the victim, not the person (or people) who committed the act in the first place. It is not acceptable to chalk certain behaviors up to ‘They’re just boys”, or “It’s war. Things happen.” For too long, women have been placed on a lower rung of importance. Our obligation is to give a voice to those who are afraid to speak for themselves.
Begin
the fight to empower women in all countries. Studies have shown that
states with a lower degree of importance placed on women’s rights show a
greater risk of safety for those very women.
We must not look the other way or stay silent. Be aware. Be compassionate. Be educated.
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| map from womenstat.com |
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| map from failedstates.com |
We must not look the other way or stay silent. Be aware. Be compassionate. Be educated.
For more information on sexual violence contact the following organizations:
References
Goetz,
Ms. Anne Marie (2008), ’Introduction’ at Wilton Park Conference, Women
Targeted or Affected by Armed Conflict: What Role for Military
Peacekeepers?’
Mertus, J. (2001). Judgment of Trial Chamber II in the Kunarac, Kovac and Vukovic Case. Retrieved from http://www.asil.org/insights/volume/6/issue/6/judgment-trial-chamber-ii-kunarac-kovac-and-vukovic-case
Women's Human Rights. (2000). Retrieved from http://www.hrw.org/legacy/wr2k/Wrd.htm#TopOfPage
Women's Stat Projects-Maps. Retrieved from http://womanstats.org/newmapspage.html
World Report on Violence and Health. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/global_campaign/en/chap6.pdf
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