Development of International Criminal Law of Sexual Violence

Abstract

Although rape was a feature of conflicts for centuries it was not until the second half of the Twentieth Century that it came to be fully appreciated as a means of warfare, rather than a side-effect of it, and prosecuted as a war crime. The development of jurisprudence of wartime rape, particularly at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, raised awareness of gendered violence and culminated in more effective legislation and practice at the International Criminal Court (ICC). However, some scholars have cautioned that over-emphasis on women's vulnerabilities can reinforce stereotypes of women that may contribute to violence against them and distract from pressing social, economic, political, and other structural inequalities.