The Pandemic of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence and the Political Economy of Gender Inequality

Abstract

Since the 1998 Rome Statute recognised widespread and systematic acts of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) as an act of genocide, a war crime and crime against humanity, the last decade has seen historic recognition that egregious acts of sexual violence merit international political and legal attention (UN General Assembly, 1998). Notably, there are now no fewer than seven United Nations Security Council resolutions on the cross-cutting theme of Women, Peace and Security.1 This significant international attention on sexual violence in armed conflict was further heightened with the launch of the United Kingdom’s Prevention of Sexual Violence Initiative (PSVI) in May 2012 by Foreign Secretary William Hague. Thus far, the PSVI has prompted a G8 Declaration (April 2013), a Security Council Resolution,2 the United Nations General Assembly Declaration of Commitment to End Sexual Violence in Conflict (September 2013) supported by 150 states and a new International Protocol on the Documentation and Investigation of Sexual Violence in Conflict (June 2014) (UK FCO, 2014). These actions illustrate the high-level political actions being taken to address sexual violence in conflict around the world. Yet current research on the early warnings of ‘widespread and systematic’ sexual violence in conflict discounts the relevance of structural gender inequality in the prevention of these atrocities.