WOMEN AND ARMED CONFLICT - SEXUAL VIOLENCE AS A WEAPON OF WAR

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.”
 

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.