Femicide and (the laws of) war

Abstract

This chapter examines femicide in relation to international humanitarian law (IHL). I show that historical attempts to outlaw rape and sexual violence in war have created precedents to criminalize acts of femicide, such as rape and sexual violence, and engage state responsibility for femicide. The most typical method of femicide, sexual violence, is merely seen as an offence against honor in IHL. Conflict-related rape and sexual violence have also been considered in the ICTY and the ICTR's case law, which remedied some of the failures of IHL to address sexual and other gender-based violence. Gendered conflict dynamics, where rape is prevalent, influence modern-day femicide. The wartime context of violence where femicide occurs tends to translate into post-conflict peacetime rapes committed by private individuals. This relationship between peacetime and post-conflict violence sheds light on the contextual element of femicide and its systemic nature.