Rape as a Weapon of War: Sexual Violence and Its Consequences



Rape as a Weapon of War: Sexual Violence and Its Consequences

Introduction

Mostly it has been observed that rape is used as a weapon of war. Mass rape during armed conflict first gained attention during the war in the Former Yugoslavia. Since then it has been studied retrospectively for major past wars, such as World War II, and armed conflict worldwide (Pratt & Werchick, 2004). For the years 1991 to 2003, Green has listed twenty-four armed conflicts in which girls and women have been raped on a massive scale. It is reasonable to assume that rape is a part of any armed conflict, despite the possibility that some armed groups refrain from employing sexual violence collectively. Though sexual violence in both times of war and times of peace is commonly underreported and epidemiological studies remain rare, it is clear that wartime rape constitutes a widespread human rights violation causing tremendous suffering in today's armed conflicts. It mainly, but not exclusively, targets girls and women and can cause long-term and often life-long physical and psychological suffering (Pratt & Werchick, 2004). Furthermore, it often destroys family and larger social networks as well as economic capacities.

Discussion

Moreover the UN sees widespread rape as a "weapon of warfare" and describes it as a "tactic of war to humiliate, dominate, instill fear in, disperse and/or forcibly relocate civilian members of a community or ethnic group" (Leslie & Michael, 2000). These statements reflect the consensus among most scholars and human rights activists that rape during armed conflict is neither a side effect of, nor an adjunct to, large-scale violence, but is an inherent part of it. Furthermore, labeling rape a weapon presumes that mass rape is systematic, deliberate, and serves one or more specific purposes.

Like the UN, suggests specific intentions behind mass rape and explicitly cites the infliction of trauma and psychological damage as one important objective of this practice. Reports from the Sierra Leone Truth Commission14 and from the Former Yugoslavia conclude that mass rape during the respective conflicts followed distinct patterns and served strategic purposes. For the Former Yugoslavia, Salzman alleges that the Serb army followed a written plan, the RAM plan, which spelled out the use of rape to ethnically cleanse Bosnia-Herzegovina. In the same vein, widespread rape in the DRC has been described as a weapon of war used by all parties to the ...