1worldinternational finally returns after a three-month hiatus with a hard hitting piece on the dangers faced by women in war zones the world over. Uche Ndaji, writer, poet and regular contributor to 1worldinternational lends her voice to this most sensitive topic.
In defence of women
Break the silence. When you witness violence against women and girls, do not sit back. Act."
Ban Ki-moon, Secretary – General
Rape.
The most heinous of crimes: leaves in its path an indelible shame on humanity.
It is too often used as a strategic military assault to terrorise a population
in armed conflict yet the international community has struggled to institute
robust, preventative measures for the purpose of eradicating one of the
greatest scourges of warfare.
The
systematic rape of 50,000 to 60,000 women in the former Yugoslavia brought rape to the forefront of international
contemplation. Consequently, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former
Yugoslavia (ICTY) was the first in Europe to categorise
rape as a crime against humanity and a form of torture. Similarly, the International Criminal
Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) emphasised rape as a vehicle through which genocide
could be carried out. In the same breath, The Rome Statute of the International
Criminal Court redefined the term sexual violence to encompass rape; sexual
slavery; enforced prostitution and forced sterilisation, but to name a few.
Although
it is unquestionable that legal frameworks exist to protect women from sexual
violence in conflict, implementation falls below the yardstick set out in
myriad international legal instruments. The Continuance of ‘shaking one’s
finger at the problem’, excuses the preponderance of impunity. We must consider
what type of solutions to offer the 102 women and girls raped by Congolese
troops during the advance of the M23 rebel group in November 2012 according to
UN estimations.
Undoubtedly,
the line between violence perpetrated by non-state actors and government troops
are blurred, borne out of years of guaranteed immunity, individuals have
conducted barbarous crimes and continued to do so without consequences. The
‘Hidden Survivors’ report by Save the Children illustrates that out of 440
child survivors of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, 81% of
perpetrators were described as civilians and 74% as known to the survivor’s
family. In the recent conflict in Cote d’Ivoire only 31% of cases of child rape were committed by
armed men.
Moreover,
communities are crippled by the assimilation of perpetrators of sexual and
gender based violence (SGBV) who are often known to victims as neighbours, or
friends. In the ICTY case of Kunarac et al. rape victims had either previously
known the offender or had come across them after the war had ended. Impunity
prolongs the psychological damage visited upon women and girls in conflict.
Administering
the cruelty of sexual violence on a population instils fear, because women are
often gang raped, raped with objects and forced into sexual slavery. Parties
use unhinged violence to defuse resistance and demoralises the enemy. Designed
to inflict discord, by fragmenting family and communal bond, groups often rape
en masse in front of communities to humiliate the victim and the men who are
unable to protect them.
An
assault presents a cumulative chain of events for victims from: stigmatization
to homelessness through to sexually transmitted diseases and unplanned
pregnancies. These occurrences persist even after conflict because communities
dealing with hardship and deprivation pre-war have difficulty transitioning
from wartime to peacetime as a result of displacements and disintegration of
the family unit.
The
international community must consider what triggers such callous treatment of
women and girls and a case can be made against historical and cultural values
that confine the capabilities of women within certain societies which
normalises discrimination and perpetuates violence. Human Rights Watch
highlighted this fact in a report on post-conflict Rwanda , highlighting that “women's subordinate status in society has long subjected them to a wide array of limitations and restrictions which have discriminated against them in profound and systemic ways.” The idea that women can only be protected by the male figures in their lives encourages a sentiment of ownership which grants women an inferior status in society.
Nevertheless,
it is unfair to dismiss recent developments which have put gender based
violence in armed conflicts back onto the international agenda. Foreign
Secretary William Hague made a declaration in The G8 Summit Foreign Minister’s
meeting held in April, pledging £23 million for “sensitive and sustained
support to survivors to build a case against culprits of heinous crimes.” Mr.
Hague also promised “deployment of international experts to build judicial,
investigative and legal capacity”. Most importantly the assurance that safe
havens will be eradicated and perpetrators searched for and prosecuted
regardless of nationality was welcomed with positivity by Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Zainab Hawa Bangura. Ms. Bangura pointed out that “the Declaration of the G8 represents a beacon of light and hope for the many devastated communities in Congo, and the countless other survivors in conflicts around the world.”
Yet solving the problem requires further engagement with communities blighted by sexual violence. Encouraging community leaders to educate men and boys about the damage sexual violence causes to their society. Alex Craig from Women for Women International stressed that “The education and training WfWI provides allows SGBV survivors to achieve economic self-sufficiency through income generation activities - economic empowerment is a very powerful element of recovery and can help to mitigate and possibly prevent recurrent SGBV.”
Yet solving the problem requires further engagement with communities blighted by sexual violence. Encouraging community leaders to educate men and boys about the damage sexual violence causes to their society. Alex Craig from Women for Women International stressed that “The education and training WfWI provides allows SGBV survivors to achieve economic self-sufficiency through income generation activities - economic empowerment is a very powerful element of recovery and can help to mitigate and possibly prevent recurrent SGBV.”
Priority should be placed on extending the mandate of peacekeeping forces to protect civilians caught in the firing line of sexual violence. Furthermore, enacting stronger national and international laws will break the cycle of impunity sending a coherent message that women are not objects of war.