SEXUAL VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN ARMED CONFLICTS ISSUES AND CONCERNS
armed conflicts; human rights; humanitarian law; sexual exploitation; etc
In many conflicts (international/internal) women have been systematically targeted for sexual violence — sometimes with the broader political objective of ethnically cleansing an area or destroying a people. From Bangladesh to former Yugoslavia, from Berlin in World War II to Nanking under Japanese occupation, from Vietnam to Mozambique, from Afghanistan to Somalia, women and girls have been the victims of sexual violence in armed conflict (this is also true for men and boys, although even less is known about the extent of this problem). Rape, forced prostitution, sexual slavery and forced impregnation are violations of international humanitarian law and are now an undisputed part of the vocabulary of war. Not that they are "new " crimes. Who didn’t learn in their history lessons of marauding armies entering the conquered towns on a rampage of ‘looting and raping’. But few of us were probably taught that " rape " was a crime and can never be justified as a means of warfare or show of power, as a reward for the victorious army or as a lesson for the vanquished unable to protect their womenfolk. However, at a more fundamental level, another ‘layer’ of theorization links the sexual violence against women in conflict to the concept of patriarchy: crucial to understanding the links between violence against women in conflict and violence against women in all other contexts is an examination of the discriminatory structures and beliefs which permeate our societies, and the positions (both literal and symbolic) which women hold in them. Deeply held patriarchal beliefs and strong patriarchal social relations are necessary factors in engendering high levels of sexual violence against women, and to the ‘success’ of rape as a strategy to humiliate and undermine male opposition forces Rape of enemy women in conflict can be seen as being aimed at men, through the use of a woman’s body as a vessel, violating both men’s honour and their exclusive right to sexual possession of his woman as his property. Thus, the rape of women as a strategy designed to humiliate men and the community ‘reflects the fundamental objectification of women. Women are the target of the abuse at the same time as their subjectivity is completely denied’. However, the fact that rape is fundamentally violence against women – against their body, autonomy, integrity, security, and self-esteem – is often obscured. Crucially, though, it must be recognised that rape that gets recognition as a war crime is necessarily more ‘brutal, relentless or dehumanizing than the ‘private’ rapes of everyday life’. In light of these observations researcher undertakes unveil the various reasons behind the systematic mass violation of woman’s life and dignity.
"SEXUAL VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN ARMED CONFLICTS ISSUES AND CONCERNS ", IJSDR - International Journal of Scientific Development and Research (www.IJSDR.org), ISSN:2455-2631, Vol.2, Issue 5, page no.373 - 375, May-2017, Available :https://ijsdr.org/papers/IJSDR1705066.pdf
Volume 2
Issue 5,
May-2017
Pages : 373 - 375
Paper Reg. ID: IJSDR_170441
Published Paper Id: IJSDR1705066
Downloads: 000347054
Research Area: Management
Country: GWALIOR, MADHYA PRADESH, India
ISSN: 2455-2631 | IMPACT FACTOR: 9.15 Calculated By Google Scholar | ESTD YEAR: 2016
An International Scholarly Open Access Journal, Peer-Reviewed, Refereed Journal Impact Factor 9.15 Calculate by Google Scholar and Semantic Scholar | AI-Powered Research Tool, Multidisciplinary, Monthly, Multilanguage Journal Indexing in All Major Database & Metadata, Citation Generator
Publisher: IJSDR(IJ Publication) Janvi Wave