About justice that is yet to come: a few remarks about the international pursuit of post-conflict gender justice

Abstract

The past three decades has seen increasing recognition of the gender-specific impact of armed conflict. This issue became especially important in context of conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, and in Rwanda, which were marked by the high prevalence of sexual and gender-based violence. International criminal law has also made some significant advancements regarding sexual violence committed during periods of conflict. In particular, successful prosecutions of wartime rape led to the development of long-awaited (especially in the field of international law) post-conflict justice. However, here it is argued that much of ‘post-conflict gender justice’ is yet to come. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda is examined in relation to how wartime rape is defined and prosecuted. The extent to which the Tribunals addressed these acts as gender crimes as opposed to through the lens of victim's ethnicity or nationality is evaluated as an area where there is much work to be done.