The Crimes of Sexual Violence in the Jurisprudence of International Criminal Tribunals

Abstract

This chapter concerns itself with strides made in defining and conceptualising sexual violence as crimes in international criminal law. The analysis presented in this chapter demonstrates that, after a long period of neglect of these crimes, wartime sexual violence appears to have gained recognition and firmly established as crimes in international criminal law. The author evidences the considerable contribution of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) to the current shift in thinking of international law regarding conflict-related sexual violence. Significantly, the author argues that the explicit criminalisation of different forms of sexual violence by the Rome Statute is a critical step forward in this regard. However, the analysis finally highlights continuing challenges in the prosecution of these crimes before international criminal tribunals.