ICC AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE

Sexual Violence and ICC



Sexual Violence and ICC

Introduction

Sexual abuse is any forced sexual activity or the use of sexuality with or against another person. Sexual violence occurs throughout the world. Hidden nature of sexual violence makes it difficult to assess the scale of the phenomenon. According to research conducted in South Africa and Tanzania , about one in four women is sexually abused by an intimate partner, and about a third of adolescent girls report that their first sexual experience had been coerced.

Sexual violence has serious consequences for the physical and mental health. It not only causes physical injury, but also increases the risk of problems with sexual and reproductive health, with both immediate and long-term effects. Its impact on mental health may be no less serious and prolonged than the physical effects. Sexual violence can lead to death by suicide, contracting HIV infection or murder; the latter can be committed during a sexual assault or later, in the form of honor killings. Sexual violence can also greatly affect the social well-being of victims, if they are stigmatized and ostracized, especially by their relatives and loved ones.

Sex with the use of coercion can bring rapist sexual satisfaction, although its main purpose, as a rule, is the assertion of power and control over the victim.

Discussion

The Definition of Sexual Violence

The World Health Organization defines sexual violence as "any sexual act or attempt to commit, unwanted sexual comments or advances, and any action against human sexuality using coercion motivated by any person regardless of his relationship with the victim, in any place, including home and work.

Coercion cannot be carried out only by means of physical force, but also the psychological pressure, intimidation, blackmail, threats of physical violence, with dismissal or refusal to work, they want to get. Violence can also occur when a person forced to have sex, cannot give their consent, such as when he is drunk, under the influence of drugs, asleep or mentally unable to assess the situation .

Types of Sexual Violence

Sexual abuse include

Rape and attempted rape,

Unwanted sexual touching or forced to touch another person,

Voyeurism or photographing people in intimate situations without their consent,

Sexual harassment and stalking ,

Exhibitionism, forced a demonstration of the person pornography ,

Any other sexual activity with a person who does not give them permission or not being able to refuse to give him a rapist or resistance.

Consequences

Sexual violence can have serious consequences for the physical and mental health. The physical effects include injuries, unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases (Lee, Pp. 26-31, 1999). Studies also reveal the long-term physical consequences of sexual violence, such as chronic pelvic pain, premenstrual syndrome, disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, gynecological disease, complications of pregnancy, migraine and other chronic headaches, back pain, facial pain, disability, resulting in loss of earning capacity.

Some of the direct psychological effects of sexual abuse include shock, denial, fear, disorientation, anxiety, nervousness, withdrawal, lack of confidence to the people, as well as short-term symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder: unemotional, sleep disturbances, ...