VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN DURING ARMED CONFLICTS
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VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN DURING ARMED CONFLICTS
Zara Qurashi, University of Nottingham
Violence against women has been described as the ‘greatest human rights scandal of
our time.’1 It relates to violence that is ‘directed against a woman because she is a
woman’2, which may result in ‘physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering’. It
includes any threats of violence, coercion or arbitrary deprivations of liberty, relating
to actions that occur in both the public and private sphere.3 Violence remains a
universal issue for women and it has no social, economic or cultural boundaries.4 It is
used as a means of social control to ensure patriarchal dominance and the derogatory
position of women throughout every society across the world.5 There is still an
enormous amount of work that needs to be done to ensure the greater protection of
women and the eradication of violence in all its forms. It needs to be globally
accepted that gender-based violence is unlawful and that it will be effectively
punished.
This paper shall focus on the violence that women face during armed conflicts to
determine whether it is now time to break away from the focus on violence against
women. This paper only examines the shortfalls in international humanitarian law in
protecting women during armed conflicts and does not discuss the wider human rights
implications of violence against women. The different forms of violence that females
come across in warzones and in post-conflict settings will firstly be addressed to
reveal the extent of women suffering. The weaknesses in international humanitarian
law (IHL) in effectively protecting women will then be discussed and counter-
balanced against any positive advancements that have been made in trying to combat
violence against women during armed conflicts. Finally, the paper will consider
gender-based violence that is suffered by men in armed conflicts, which raises the
question of whether we need to stop only looking at the violence that women face by
taking a simultaneous approach that looks at the violence that both genders are subject
to.
I – Violence against Women during Armed Conflicts
The acute suffering that women face during wartime is because of their gender. Both
international and internal armed conflicts increase social tolerance towards violence6
which subsequently results in females enduring abuse in the form of rape, forced
1
Amnesty International, ‘Stop Violence Against Women’
;
accessed 4th April 2011.
2
Ibid.
3
Article 1 of the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
4
UNHRC ‘Report of the Special Rapporteur on ‘Violence against Women, its causes and
consequences’ (6 February 2003) UN Doc E/CN/.4./2004/66.
5
C. Niarchos, ‘Women, War and Rape: Challenges facing the International Tribunal for the Former
Yugoslavia’ (1995)17 Human Rights Quarterly, 650.
6
UNHRC, ‘Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences:
Violence against women perpetrated and/ or condoned by the State during times of armed conflict
(1997-2000)’ (23 January 2001) UN Doc E/CN.4/2001/73, 18.Violence Against Women During Armed Conflicts
prostitution, sexual mutilation, strip searches, forced nudity, forced abductions and
‘marriages’ to soldiers to whom they then become a sexual slave.7 The laws that
should protect them against such atrocities are inadequate because violence against
women is a well-established method of warfare that is routinely used to repress and
‘break the enemy’.8 This section aims to reveal the gravity of the dilemma facing
women during armed conflicts and the discriminatory violence that they are subjected
to. The different forms of violence that women have to endure in wartime will be
discussed by looking at examples from both past and present conflict areas.
I(a) – RAPE as a method of warfare
Wartime rape has been largely accepted by historians and military leaders as an
inevitable consequence of war. It is a ‘peculiar and odious’ form of violence that
women have endured in all conflicts.9 Since the twentieth century, rape has become a
more self-conscious weapon of war10, which has ensured the continuing debasement
of women. Wartime propaganda has reinforced the link between war and sexual
violence by States asserting that they need to protect ‘their women’ from the enemy.11
The idea of women being ‘victims in need of protection’ exacerbates the effectiveness
of rape as a tool of warfare because it suggests that raping women will be one of the
worst things that the enemy could do; thus giving it more appeal.
Rape of women civilians has consisted of gang rapes which take place in houses,
detention centres, or in public. ‘Rape camps’ have also been a common feature in all
conflicts, where detained women are raped frequently as part of a wider military
strategy.12 The Yugoslavian and Rwandan conflicts brought to the forefront of public
attention how rape can be used to terrorise a local population. Gender-based violence
was an essential method of assault in these conflicts and was used to impregnate the
victim so that they would give birth to children of mixed ethnic descent.13 This was an
integral part of the genocide stratagem and has left long-term health concerns for
victims’ reproductive organs and psychological well-being.14
Systematic rape and other sexual violence has also been a ‘hallmark’ of the nine-year
conflict in Sierra Leone, where thousands of cases have been reported of
individual/gang rapes, sexual assaults by inserting firewood and umbrellas etc into
women’s genitilia, combined with other forms of sexual slavery and mutilation.15
7
Ibid, 14.
8
C. Niarchos (n5) 689.
9
Ibid 652-3.
10
Ibid 662.
11
Ibid 670.
12
Ibid 656-7.
13
Ibid 657-8.
14
UNHRC, ‘Report of the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women: Report of the mission to
Rwanda on the issues of violence against women in situations of armed conflict’ (4 Feb 1998) UN Doc
E/CN.4/1998/54/Add.1, 11.
15
UNHRC, ‘Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences:
Violence against women perpetrated and/ or condoned by the State during times of armed conflict
(1997-2000)’ (n6) 28-29.
40UK Law Student Review - January 2013 - Volume 1, Issue 2
Even in smaller conflicts that do not amount to civil war, the rape of women is used
as a means to insert power and dominance over a population. For example, in Haiti,
where the country has been plagued with political unrest for decades, rape and other
violence against women has been utilised as a form of ‘political pressure’ to ensure
democratic suppression and the maintenance of a totalitarian regime in the country.16
Similarly, Human Rights Watch have recently documented that in Cote d’Ivoire, State
forces have raped and killed women in far western villages where it is perceived that
they may be supporters of the political opposition party.17
The rape of women during conflicts has relentless and lasting consequences affecting
every aspect of a victim’s life. Women have been rejected by family members
because they are seen to be ‘ruined’ and ‘dishonoured’. A sad example of this
occurring is in the conflict between West Pakistan and Bangladesh, where
Bangladeshi women were routinely raped by the other side and sent to military
brothels. They were then unable to return to their families and husbands because they
had been outcaste and degraded.18 There are also acute concerns for the female child
that is subject to sexual violence because of the greater psychological trauma that they
are likely to suffer. The likelihood of contracting sexually transmitted diseases,
especially for those girls that are not yet sexually mature, is also increased. Socially, it
is much harder for them to reintegrate back into their families once the conflict is over.
This is especially so if their ‘marriage’ to a soldier has been for a long time and that is
the only life that they have come to know as reality.19
I(b)– Domestic Violence
The correlation between domestic violence and violence during war is also a major
concern. Evidence has shown how women are not only more vulnerable to outside
violence during conflicts; they are also at higher risk from suffering at the hands of
their loved ones within their own home.20 For example, in Croatia, domestic violence
against women had increased by nearly 30 per cent since the outbreak of war.21 The
situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory also tells a similar story of gender
inequality being more pronounced by the conflict situation. The increased poverty and
social tensions within the region are contributing factors to the escalated domestic
violence due to patriarchal rule being used as a ‘defence mechanism to keep the
society intact’. 22 Refugee camps and detention facilities are another area where
women are subject to violence in the post-conflict phase. For example, in Burundi,
women have suffered high levels of sexual and domestic violence by other refugees
16
UNHRC, ‘Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences:
Report on the mission to Haiti’ (27 January 2000) UN Doc E/CN.4/2000/68/Add.3. 12.
17
Human Rights Watch, ‘Newsletter: The Week in Rights’
accessed 14 April 2011.
18
C. Niarchos (n5) 667.
19
(n6) 16.
20
Ibid, 18.
21
C. Niarchos (n5) 671.
22
UNHRC, ‘Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and
consequences: Mission to Occupied Palestinian Territory’ (2 February 2005) E/CN.4/2005/72/Add.4,
14.
41Violence Against Women During Armed Conflicts
and men living near to the refugee camps.23 The fact that domestic violence escalates
during armed conflicts reveals the diverse forms of violence that women suffer during
wartime and how they can find no safe-haven anywhere. Effective international
policies are necessary and must be implemented in order to eradicate these problems
in the future.
I(c) – The Post-conflict setting and the role of UN Peace-keepers
There has been a shocking revelation that women must also fear violence from UN
peacekeepers that are sent into a country post-conflict to try and restore the rule of
law into the affected country. This is a disturbing reminder of the universal
acceptance that women can be treated violently within warzones without being
provided with any legal protection. Peacekeepers have been accused of engaging in
sex-trafficking, soliciting prostitution, forcing children into prostitution and fathering
babies which they have then left behind.24 It was in 2004 that the media became
aware of the abuses that were taking place in the UN mission to the Democratic
Republic of the Congo (DRC), which then led to an official enquiry. In 2005 alone,
340 cases of abuse and sexual exploitation by peacekeepers were reported.25 The
actual figures are likely to be much higher because these only represent the statistics
of those willing to come forward and reveal that they were sexually abused by UN
officials. Also, despite recent figures showing a decrease in sexual violence by
peacekeepers, the serious risk of sexual abuse still exists. For example, in 2007, 800
peacekeepers were suspended from their work in Cote d’Ivoire on allegations that
they had engaged in sex with minors.26
Women in conflict zones become more vulnerable to abuse due to poverty and
unemployment, which makes prostitution seem like the only way possible to earn
money. However, the professional role that peacekeepers take to advance peace and
protect the local population whilst working for the UN, makes it even more
reprehensible that they have taken part in the sexual exploitation of women.27 There is
also the human rights concern for those abandoned babies that are provided with no
money and protection from their fathers. Figures reveal that an estimated 24,500
babies were fathered by peacekeepers in Cambodia alone.28 Ndulo validly asserts that
the magnitude of violence perpetuated on women during UN missions must mean that
peacekeepers either believe that their actions are not wrong or that they will not be
held accountable. This means that there is a need for better accountability
mechanisms within the UN to address the problem of sexual violence against women
and girls by peacekeepers.29
23
(n6) 22.
24
M.Ndulo, ‘The United Nations Responses to the Sexual Abuse of Women and Girls during
Peacekeeping missions’(2009) 27 Berkeley Journal of International Law, 129.
25
Ibid 142.
26
Ibid 143.
27
Ibid 146.
28
M.Ndulo (n24) 157.
29
Ibid 144.
42UK Law Student Review - January 2013 - Volume 1, Issue 2
II – IHL and its Inadequate Protections for Women
IHL is the law that governs armed conflicts and is therefore the first place that we
should turn to see if women are sufficiently protected against violence in international
law. The specific provisions dealing with the protection of women are found in the
Geneva Conventions which state that ‘women shall be especially protected against
any attack on their honour, in particular against rape, enforced prostitution, or any
form of indecent assault.’30 This demonstrates how IHL is a gender-biased law that
only sees rape as a challenge to ‘honour’ rather than a violent attack on women
because of their gender.31 By linking rape to honour, it fails to recognise the brutal
assault that take place on a woman’s body and psyche. It also links with society’s
perceptions that women are disgraced and deserve to be outcaste once they have
suffered this violence. Moreover, Article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention does
not describe rape as a ‘grave breach’ which refutes the serious and damaging effects
of rape and denies that it deserves universal jurisdiction.32
Nevertheless, some progress has been made with the 1977 Additional Protocols to the
Geneva Conventions which prohibit ‘outrages upon personal dignity’. This includes
rape, forced prostitution and any other degrading treatment.33 However, the reference
to ‘personal dignity’ still fails to recognise the seriousness of rape by giving it a
secondary status in IHL. Another issue is that despite the improvements that have
been made for women through the Protocols, their protective scope is limited because
they are not widely ratified and do not amount to customary international law.34
Charlesworth and Gardam also reveal how a mighty 43 provisions of the Geneva
Conventions and their protocols actually deal with women and the effects of armed
conflict, yet they still remain inadequate because they only ‘deal with women in
relation to others and not as individuals in their own right.’35 Gardam is also correct in
believing that IHL looks at the protection of women from a male perspective, which
therefore ensures that the laws remain inherently discriminatory and unjust. 36
Women’s concerns are presented as less important compared to those of men because
the language of ‘protection’ is used rather than ‘prohibition’.37 Gardam suggests that a
new protocol to protect women in times of armed conflict is necessary and is an
achievable goal.38 However, another more credible option would be to focus on
reconceptualising the rules that already exist by mainstreaming gender issues within
them.39 Whatever method is used, it is clear that IHL needs to be revised so that it
30
Article 27 of the Fourth Geneva Convention 1949.
31
C. Niarchos (n5) 672.
32
Ibid 674.
33
See Article 75 and 76 Additional Protocol I 1977 and Article 4 Additional Protocol II of the Geneva
Conventions.
34
C. Niarchos (n5) 676.
35
J. Gardam and H. Charlesworth, ‘Protection of women in armed conflict’ (2000)22 Human Rights
Quarterly, 159.
36
Ibid 67.
37
Ibid 159.
38
J. Gardam, ‘Women and the law of armed conflict: Why the silence?’ (1997) International
Comparative Law Quarterly, 77.
39
J. Gardam and H. Charlesworth (n35) 164.
43Violence Against Women During Armed Conflicts
recognises rape as a distinct form of warfare that is used to persecute women because
of their gender.40
III – International Awareness and the Progress made for Women during Armed
Conflicts
Despite all of the issues raised above, there has been a recent awareness made in
international law to try and recognise the extent of the violence that women endure
during armed conflicts. The progress that has been made will now be looked at to
determine whether it is now time to focus on something other than violence against
women.
III(a) – International Criminal Tribunals
After the grave human rights abuses that took place in the former Yugoslavia and
Rwanda, a change in politics was necessary to ensure that mass rape as part of a
genocide mission could never take place again. As a result, the International Criminal
Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal
for Rwanda (ICTR) were set up to bring accountability and future deterrence to those
responsible for human rights abuses within these regions. The International Tribunals
have played a crucial role in reforming international law so that it properly takes into
account the violence that women face during armed conflicts. The ICTY has ‘played a
critical role in setting jurisprudential benchmarks for the prosecution of wartime
sexual violence’ because for the first time, crimes of sexual assault have been deemed
to be grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions. They have also been given the status
of crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide. 41 These are welcomed
improvements that have finally recognised sexual violence against women as a major
concern within armed conflicts that is in need of greater accountability mechanisms.
The ICTY decided in the cases of Tadic42 and Blaskic43 that rape and sexual violence
can form part of a widespread and systematic campaign of terror that will amount to
crimes against humanity and war crimes. The cases are significant because they
accept that sexual violence in and of itself does not need to be widespread and
systematic; it can be a constituent element of a widespread campaign of violence. 44
This ensures that single acts of rape which are just as damaging to an individual, will
not go unpunished. Furthermore, the ICTY also held that rape can amount to an act of
torture45 and that individuals may be charged with crimes of sexual violence alone,
without requiring any other form of war crime to be committed. For example, in the
Furundzija case46, a person was prosecuted for the first time, for crimes of sexual
40
C. Niarchos (n5) 679.
41
(n6) 9.
42
Prosecutor v Dusco Tadic ICTY-94-1-T (14th July 1997).
43
Prosecutor v Tihomir Blaškić ICTY-94-1-A (2000)
44
(n6) 9-10.
45
Celibici Camp ICTY-96-21-T (16th November 1998).
46
Prosecutor v Furunzija (Judgement) ICTY-95-17/1- (10th December 1998).
44UK Law Student Review - January 2013 - Volume 1, Issue 2
violence alone. The Tribunal also confirmed how oral sex could be considered a form
of rape as well as other ‘serious sexual assault[s] falling short of penetration’.47
The ICTR’s contribution to the sexual violence discourse has also been highly
influential. In Akayesu48, the Court proclaimed that sexual violence can form an
essential element to a genocide campaign. The ICTR applied a broad definition to
what can amount to a crime of sexual violence by claiming that acts other than sexual
penetration- such as forced nudity- can also fall within this notion.49 The International
Tribunals have taken a much broader understanding of what constitutes ‘rape’ than
many domestic legal systems have been willing to recognise. This is a positive
advancement in international law because it aims to prevent impunity for all forms of
violence that may be committed against women during conflicts.
Another recent achievement has been the creation of the ad hoc ‘Women’s
International War Crimes Tribunal’ that was set up in the year 2000 in Japan. This
Tribunal had to consider the liability of Japanese military and political officials for the
State-endorsed ‘comfort system’ that was used in the 1930’s and 1940’s to rape and
sexually enslave women from all across the Asia-Pacific region. The Tribunal was set
up 56 years after the actual crimes had been committed, which reveals how human
rights activists had worked relentlessly to ensure that crimes against women were not
left forgotten and unprosecuted.
The Women’s Tribunal decided that the fact that the comfort system lasted over 13
years with ‘literally thousands of facilities’ across some dozen countries, adequately
proved how the top authorities must have been involved in implementing the
system. 50 Therefore, Japan had breached many of its treaty obligations and
international laws- so the State should apologise to the rape victims and provide them
with compensation. This demonstrates how outside actors can help to bring State’s to
accountability for their actions, which is a remarkable step forward for women’s
rights. Nevertheless, the Tokyo Tribunal’s recommendations can only ‘encourage’
and ‘influence’ the State of Japan, providing no binding rules that must be followed.51
Therefore, Japan is able to ignore the findings and recommendations that have been
made by the Tribunal in the same way that they have been denying their responsibility
for the comfort systems for the past 56 plus years.
III(b) – The ICC and UN Security Council Resolutions
Another major turning point has been the UN’s recognition that violence against
women during conflicts needs to end. Security Council Resolutions 1325(2000) and
1820(2008) have been passed, which call on all parties to a conflict to take special
measures to protect women and girls against violence. This significantly portrays how
the UN regards the prevention of violence against women to be a peace and security
issue52 as well as a humanitarian concern. It also means that the need to protect
47
Ibid at [186].
48
ICTR- 96-4-T (2nd October 1998).
49
(n6)12-13.
50
Transcript of the Oral Judgement delivered on 4th December 2001 by the Judges of the Women’s
International War Crimes Tribunal on Japan’s Military Sexual Slavery [90]-[91].
51
Ibid at [70].
52
M.Ndulo (n24) 133.
45Violence Against Women During Armed Conflicts
women from violence has moved into ‘high politics’ which gives the issue a sense of
importance and urgency that did not previously exist.53
The ICC Statute also provides another invaluable contribution to ensuring greater
protection for women against violence by explicitly stating that rape and other gender
violence is seriously prohibited and can constitute crimes of genocide and crimes
against humanity. Article 7(1)(f) clearly claims that ‘rape, sexual slavery, enforced
prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilization, or any other form of sexual
violence of comparable gravity’ can constitute crimes against humanity. In addition,
Article 7(1)(g) depicts how persecution of individuals because of their gender is
impermissible under international law. The ICC Statute further states that judges and
advisers with specific expertise on sexual and gender violence should be appointed to
ensure that proper skill and attention is given to the issue of violence against women.
The ICC Statute has made major progress in international law because gender-based
crimes are no longer linked to a woman’s honour or dignity.54 It also depicts how
violence against women is worthy of international prohibition and prosecution.
However, although the groundwork is there to suggest that we can move away from
the focus on violence against women, it is submitted that the International Criminal
Court does not protect women to the extent that is necessary to allow for a shift in
attention. O’Connell has shown how the ICC has been unable to adequately deal with
gender-based crimes due to a lack of effective investigations and substantial proof to
prosecute individuals. For example, in the case of Lubunga 55, the individual in
question was not charged with any gender based crimes despite common knowledge
that he had committed mass rape and violence against women in the DRC. Similarly,
with the cases of Katanga and Ngudjolo56, the ICC was only able to charge the
individuals for some of the gender based crimes that they had committed, thus
amounting to partial justice for the victims concerned.57
Another disadvantage is that certain definitions within the ICC Statute are
incompatible with women’s rights. Article 7(2)(f) proclaims that forced pregnancy is
only prohibited when the perpetrator has an ‘intent’ to affect the ethnic composition
of any population. This raises the serious concern as to why all forced pregnancies are
not prohibited regardless of intent. The definition of ‘gender’ in Article 7(3) is also
problematic because it relies on the biological differentiation between men and
women, rather than taking a more acceptable approach that looks at the social
construction of gender.58 Furthermore, the Court only has competence to deal with
those cases where States have consented in giving the ICC jurisdiction. Therefore,
State impunity can flourish when States decide to not bring a case forward to the
Court. Moreover, the ICC only has the capacity to deal with crimes that reach a
53
R. Charli Carpenter, ‘Recognising gender-based violence against civilian men and boys in conflict
situations’ (2006) 37 Security Dialogue, 85.
54
S. O’Connell, ‘Gender based crimes at the International Criminal Court’ (2010) 1 Plymouth Law
Review, 71.
55
ICC-01/04-01/06.
56
ICC-01/05-01/08.
57
S. O’Connell (n54) 73-75.
58
(n6) 9.
46UK Law Student Review - January 2013 - Volume 1, Issue 2
sufficient gravity threshold, meaning that all instances of violence against women
during armed conflicts cannot be prosecuted by the ICC.59
IV – Violence Against Men During Armed Conflicts
Although the discussion has thus far been focused on the violence that women are
subjected to during armed conflict, there has recently been a growing concern that the
gender-based violence that men face in wartime has been left largely undocumented
and ignored. Therefore, it is submitted that it is time to take a more synchronised
approach that incorporates the male victim into wartime sexual-violence discourse.60
This is because it would add greater validity to the mission to end gender-based
violence in totum; whether it concerns a male or female victim. As DelZotto and
Jones rightfully state, the sexual violence suffered by men in wartime is no less
traumatic than that which affects women61, which is why a gender-neutral multi-
dimensional stance is necessary to help both men and women fight against sexual
violence in the future.62
Sexual violence against men has taken place in all conflicts throughout history.
Different forms of male rape occur, such as forcing victims to rape fellow victims as
well as having objects inserted into their bodies.63 Enforced sterilisation can also take
place, with castration and other forms of mutilation being a common occurrence. For
example, in Tadic64 it was recalled how victims were forced to bite off other men’s
testicles and were forced to perform oral sex on other victims. In addition, men have
suffered from enforced nudity and enforced masturbation during conflicts.65The most
recent example of the former occurring is in Abu Ghraib where photographic proof
revealed how male detainees were forced to take off their clothes and wear women’s
underwear over their heads. They were also forcibly placed into sexually derogatory
positions whilst naked and were then photographed.66 The main question is whether
or not it is sufficient for these cases to come under inhuman and degrading treatment/
torture, rather than under the separate category of gender-based violence? Although
claiming that these actions are torture would not be wrong, it could have the effect of
denying that men too, can be victims of gender-based violence.
Sexual violence against men takes place for the same reasons that sexual violence
against women occurs, which portrays a similarity between both forms of violence.
Male sexual violence is used to disempower the victim and to rob them of their
masculinity through sodomy, forced nudity and castrations. It is also used to assert
power and dominance over the individual in the same way that happens with violence
59
S. O’Connell (n54) 78-9.
60
A. DelZotto and A. Jones, ‘Male-on-Male Sexual Violence in Wartime: Human Rights’ Last
Taboo?’ accessed 4 April 2011.
61
Ibid.
62
S. Sivakurmaran, ‘Sexual violence against men in armed conflict’ (2007) 18 European Journal of
International Law, 260.
63
Ibid 263-4.
64
Prosecutor v Dusko Tadic, Opinion and Judgement, IT-94-I-T.
65
S. Sivakurmaran (n62)265-6.
66
Ibid 256.
47Violence Against Women During Armed Conflicts
against women. 67 It humiliates and stigmatises the victim and can have horrific
physical and mental consequences. 68 A powerful indication of the suffering that
gender-based violence can cause to men is the fact that they have been forced to rape
their own daughters. They have also been made to stand and watch their female
relatives being sexually abused. Little has been documented on the trauma that men
must face when seeing this happen and the psychological impact that this must have.69
The improvements that have been made to recognise the violence that women face in
wartimes has had a negative impact on male victims because of their complete non-
representation. For example, it has been claimed that no international organisation or
NGO has established a research programme that focuses on male victims of sexual
violence.70 Male sufferers are less likely to admit that they have been subject to sexual
violence because of the stigma and fear this can cause. There is also a lack of
experienced professionals who look out for the signs of males being abused because
of the greater focus on women victims.71 This is a big problem because although we
know that sexual violence against men exists in conflicts, we have no idea about the
extent to which this occurs.72 There is also a lack of sufficient humanitarian assistance
available for male rape survivors, which is likely to have damaging consequences.73
Therefore, Carpenter makes the valid assertion that it is impossible to know whether
women suffer more sexual violence during armed conflict than men, because no
comparable data exists.74
Gender-stereotyping needs to be eradicated75 and it has been argued that ‘the single
biggest gap in programming’ needs to be closed.76 Although a real concern exists that
gender-mainstreaming could move the focus away from women and solely onto men,
this could be avoided if both male and female violence is dealt with concurrently
rather than as separate issues.77 There needs to be a shift from focusing only on the
violence that women face in armed conflicts because male victims are currently left
voiceless, defenceless and unprotected by international law. In the same way that
gender-equality cannot occur without considering the effects on both men and
women; gender-based violence against women cannot be solved without also dealing
with the violence that men similarly face in matching circumstances.
67
Ibid 270.
68
W. Russel, ‘Sexual violence against men and boys’ (2007) 27 Forced Migration Review, 22.
69
R. Charli Carpenter (n53) 96.
70
A. DelZotto and A. Jones (n60).
71
S. Sivakurmaran (n62) 256.
72
Ibid, 254.
73
R. Charli Carpenter (n53) 95.
74
Ibid 87-88.
75
S. Sivakurmaran (n62) 275.
76
R. Charli Carpenter (n53) 87.
77
Ibid 99.
48UK Law Student Review - January 2013 - Volume 1, Issue 2
V – Conclusion
This paper has demonstrated the concerns that exist for women in conflict zones
because of the mass violence that they are subjected to because of their gender.
Current deficiencies in IHL and the recent improvements that have been made for
women in international law have also been looked at to reveal how slow progress is
taking place to allow for greater protections for women; yet many deficiencies still
exist that need to be resolved. Nonetheless, a slight change of focus is necessary by
looking at the gender-based violence that both men and women face in conflicts.
There still remains a major gap between the laws that have been put in place and the
political will of Member States to enforce these laws. Violence against women is the
most effective indication of the extent to which gender inequality exists throughout
every society across the world. It is a form of discriminatory force that is used to
degrade women by enforcing male dominance within domestic and social settings.
Despite this paper focussing on armed conflict settings, it must be remembered that
women are equally vulnerable in times of peace and in times of conflict because all
cultural backdrops have enabled men to exert arbitrary power over women. Only
when complete gender equality exists in every society across the world, will violence
against women no longer be a major global concern.
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