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Begin New Search Topic Sexual Violence Publication Year within 10 Years

1. Beyond the Weapon of War: Rethinking Gendered Narratives of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence

Author:
Sydney Leigh Smith
Publication Date:
04-2025
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
Institution:
School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:
Conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) has traditionally been understood as an inevitable byproduct of war, with rape framed as a biologically driven act of sexual gratification committed by men against women. This perception shifted following landmark rulings by the International Criminal Tribunals for former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and Rwanda (ICTR), which established sexual violence as a weapon of war. This article critically examines the "weapon of war" framework, which portrays militarized men as strategic perpetrators and women as symbolic victims, arguing that it reproduces harmful gendered identities and oversimplifies the complexities of sexual violence in conflict. The paper first traces the historical evolution of how CRSV has been conceptualized—from a natural consequence of war to a gendered and strategic tool of power—before analyzing the limitations of the weapon of war paradigm. It highlights the framework’s exclusion of male victims, female perpetrators, and diverse motivations for sexual violence—such as opportunism, material gain, and combatant bonding—as well as its failure to account for cases where armed groups refrain from using sexual violence altogether. Drawing on original analysis of over 4,000 redacted ICTR witness testimonies, the article demonstrates how the framework has constrained legal recognition, obscured lived experiences, and reproduced narrow narratives of ethnic hatred and gendered violence. It calls for a reframing of the gendered weapon of war concept to better account for the complexity of CRSV and to promote more inclusive approaches to justice, prevention, and survivor-centered redress.
Topic:
Rape, Sexual Violence, Accountability, Armed Conflict, Gender, and Atrocity Prevention
Political Geography:
Global Focus

2. Indigenous Women Survivors of Guatemala’s Rape Camps Seek Justice

Author:
Jo-Marie Burt, Paulo Estrada, and Eduardo Colindres
Publication Date:
05-2025
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA)
Abstract:
Forty years after surviving state violence, Maya Achi women return to court to demand justice, challenging a long legacy of impunity for crimes against humanity.
Topic:
Rape, Sexual Violence, Accountability, Justice, and Crimes Against Humanity
Political Geography:
Central America and Guatemala

3. Strengthening Health System Response to Sexual Violence in Afghanistan

Author:
Barbara Buckinx, Charu Lata Hogg, and Ila Prabhuram
Publication Date:
01-2025
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination, Princeton University
Abstract:
This policy report summarizes insights from a workshop organized by the Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination (LISD) at Princeton University on November 5, 2024. The workshop, titled “Strengthening Health System Response to Sexual Violence in Afghanistan,” was co-organized by All Survivors Project (ASP) and cosponsored by the SPIA Afghanistan Policy Lab and the Center for Health and Wellbeing, and was held under the Chatham House Rule.
Topic:
Women, Sexual Violence, Public Health, and Healthcare System
Political Geography:
Afghanistan and South Asia

4. The Gendering of Sudan’s Brutal War

Author:
Nafisa Bedri and Tamsin Bradley
Publication Date:
07-2024
Content Type:
Working Paper
Journal:
Cairo Review of Global Affairs
Institution:
School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, American University in Cairo
Abstract:
Any analysis of the sexual violence and unfolding genocide must highlight the extent to which the media is still using an orientalist gaze to report on the war in Sudan
Topic:
Civil War, Genocide, Human Rights, Women, Media, Sexual Violence, and Armed Conflict
Political Geography:
Africa and Sudan

5. Pathways to Justice and Accountability for Conflict-Related Sexual Violence: Lessons Learned and Policy Recommendations from the Frontlines

Author:
Jess Keller
Publication Date:
12-2024
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS)
Abstract:
The Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security released a new report on the widespread use of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) and its devastating impacts on individuals and communities, which can last generations and undermine peace and security efforts. Sexual violence is used as a weapon of war by combatants in conflict situations worldwide, decimating societies and fueling displacement. It remains a silent crime, with an estimated 80 percent of cases in conflict settings going unreported. This fall, GIWPS convened leaders from Ukraine, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Colombia to share lessons learned for responding to the global scourge of CRSV. Drawing on their insights, this report presents actionable policy recommendations for key stakeholders to hold perpetrators accountable, meet survivor needs, and follow through on their commitments to deliver justice. The report, authored by Jess Keller, was made possible with support from the Embassy of Germany in Washington, D.C.
Topic:
Gender Based Violence, Sexual Violence, Accountability, and Armed Conflict
Political Geography:
Ukraine, Colombia, Kosovo, and Bosnia and Herzegovina

6. The Gender-Based Violence Crisis in Haiti

Author:
Christopher Hernandez-Roy and Juliana Rubio
Publication Date:
09-2024
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Abstract:
Gender-based violence (GBV) in Haiti is a widespread and escalating problem, exacerbated by the country’s deep-rooted gender inequalities, systemic impunity, and political instability. As the political and security crisis in Haiti has deepened in recent years, the use of GBV, particularly sexual violence, has increased as a systematic tool of intimidation and punishment, and ultimately of control. Local civil society organizations are continuing their efforts to support survivors of GBV, but they require additional external assistance. With the formation of a new interim government and the arrival of the Kenyan-led, UN-backed Multinational Security Support (MSS) Mission earlier in 2024, it becomes imperative to understand GBV’s deeply entrenched roots and recent expansion and escalation in order to begin to effectively address this crisis.
Topic:
Inequality, Gender Based Violence, and Sexual Violence
Political Geography:
Caribbean and Haiti

7. Servicewomen as Whistleblowers: Canadian Servicewomen and the Revelations of Military Sexual Violence

Author:
Claire Cookson-Hills
Publication Date:
02-2024
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
This article documents the history of revelations of sexual misconduct within the military, and places that history in the paradoxical context of the responses of Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and the Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC). Starting in 1998 with the Maclean’s reporting, servicewomen have publicly shared their personal experiences of military sexual trauma. The history of these revelations has been written by journalists in conversation with servicewomen. Journalists have been supportive and ham-handed advocates of justice for survivors of military sexual violence. By contrast, both CAF and VAC have been reactionary in their responses to military sexual violence. Such focus on sexual violence stands in contrast to how servicewomen place the violence in the wider context of their career. After 2015, servicewomen have taken steps to advocate, organize, write their own stories publicly, and thereby put pressure on the Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs to change.
Topic:
Armed Forces, Women, Sexual Violence, Whistle Blowing, and Military
Political Geography:
Canada and North America

8. Toward A Comparative History of Sexual Violence and War - A Book Talk with Feminist Chizuko Ueno

Author:
Chizuko Ueno and Carol Gluck
Publication Date:
05-2024
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University
Abstract:
Speaker: Chizuko Ueno, Professor Emerita University of Tokyo, Chief Director of the Non Profit Organization, Women’s Action Network Moderator: Carol Gluck, George Sansom Professor Emerita of History, Columbia University Sexual violence in war is a perennial and a global phenomenon. The “comfort women” system of sexual slavery in Asia and sexual assaults by Allied soldiers in Europe during World War II, the rape camps in Bosnia in the 1990s war in the former Yugoslavia -- the list is long and continues to this day. Based on her book, A Comparative History of War and Sexual Violence, Ueno explores a range of issues, including the discourse of victimhood and the question of agency, rape as a weapon of war, and also love and “horizontal collaboration” between enemies. A provocative argument from Japan’s leading feminist and influential social activist. Speaker Bio: Chizuko Ueno is an emeritas professor at the University of Tokyo. Chief Director of the Non Profit Organization, Women’s Action Network ( http://wan.or.jp/) . A leading feminist theorist and an influential social critic, a prolific author of books and articles and a high-profile intellectual in Japan. In 1994, one of her many acclaimed books, Kindai Kazoku no Seiritsu to Shuen (The Rise and Fall of the Modern Family), won the coveted Suntory Academic Award. English publications are available as follows; The Modern Family in Japan: Its Rise and Fall (2009), Nationalism and Gender (2004). Asahi Shinbun Award winner in 2012 for her contribution to feminism and women’s studies, in addition to studies of care. Received Hän Honor from the Finnish government in 2019 for the contribution to promote gender equality. Selected as a member of American Academy of Art and Sciences in 2020. Event sponsored by the Weatherhead East Asian Institute and co-sponsored by the Japan Research Program.
Topic:
War, History, Sexual Violence, Comfort Women, and Book Talk
Political Geography:
Japan, Europe, Asia, and Balkans

9. Strengthening Reintegration Support to Boys Formerly Associated with Armed Forces or Armed Groups Who Are Victims/Survivors of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence

Author:
Barbara Buckinx and Charu Lata Hogg
Publication Date:
08-2024
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination, Princeton University
Abstract:
This policy report summarizes insights from a workshop held in Bogotá, Colombia, on December 4, 2023, titled, “Strengthening Reintegration Support to Boys Formerly Associated with Armed Forces or Armed Groups Who Are Victims/Survivors of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence.” The workshop was organized by the Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination (LISD), All Survivors Project (ASP), and the UN Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict (OSRSG CAAC).
Topic:
Armed Forces, Children, Sexual Violence, Armed Conflict, and Reintegration
Political Geography:
Colombia and Global Focus

10. UN Tools for Addressing Conflict-Related Sexual Violence: An Analysis of Listings and Sanctions Processes

Author:
Jenna Russo and Lauren McGowan
Publication Date:
04-2024
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Peace Institute (IPI)
Abstract:
Since the Security Council first recognized conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) as a threat to international peace and security in 2008, the UN has developed an increasing number of pathways to prevent and respond to such crimes. One of these is the annual report of the secretary-general on CRSV, which includes an annexed list of perpetrators who are credibly suspected of committing or being responsible for patterns of CRSV violations in contexts on the agenda of the Security Council. In addition, perpetrators of CRSV may also be designated in UN sanctions regimes. Yet while both of these processes aim to prevent and respond to CRSV, they are not always coherent with one another. This paper analyzes the relationship between the annual reports of the secretary-general on CRSV and sanctions designations to provide recommendations to enhance their complementarity. It provides an overview of the CRSV annual report and the process for listing parties. It then focuses on designations in sanctions regimes for crimes related to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), including the level of coherence between the reporting of the secretary-general and designations in sanctions regimes. Next, the paper analyzes the reporting and political barriers that inhibit more regular designations for SGBV in sanctions regimes. Finally, it provides recommendations to the UN and member states on how to improve the coherence, coordination, and effectiveness of these processes, including the following.
Topic:
United Nations, Sanctions, Sexual Violence, UN Security Council, and Armed Conflict
Political Geography:
Global Focus