Conflict-related Sexual Violence Research Articles

Beyond Seeing and Listening: Children Born from Conflict-Related Sexual Violence

ABSTRACT This essay discusses some points made by the three books under review regarding how children born of conflict-related sexual violence have not been seen and listened to by those working in the field of transitional justice. To this end, it explores some of the reasons behind this oversight, including generalized assumptions about their relationships with their mothers, families and communities. It also discusses some of the limitations of the current transitional justice framework to address the plight of these children. Finally, the essay emphasizes the importance of analyzing more deeply the particular context in which these children are embedded. To this end it draws from some of the frameworks presented in the three books under review, which allow for a more capacious comprehension of the situation of children born of conflict-related sexual violence.

Curating conflict-related sexual violence: Museological visibilities at the Imperial War Museum

While often under-researched, mis-catalogued, and obscured from public display, conflict-related sexual violence is acutely entangled in the story of conflict that the Imperial War Museum tells its visitors, beyond the dichotomous characterisation of present/absent, hidden/revealed or remembered/forgotten. This article outlines and characterises ways in which the Imperial War Museum curates conflict-related sexual violence, illustrating how this equates to gendered and gendering arbitrations on what is appropriate, representative, and moreover what counts as conflict-related sexual violence and as the material and visual culture of war. Curatorial practices are found to both reflect and actively (re)produce patterns of representation in sexual violence discourse, through a prism of visual hierarchies inherent to modern museumification and the Museum’s titular imperial legacy. Insights from this case can help guide ambitions of a more activist, feminist curatorial practice, one invested in disrupting harmful patterns and centring what is marginal.

Conflict, Displacement and Overlapping Vulnerabilities: Understanding Risk Factors for Gender Based Violence Among Displaced Women in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been embroiled in decades-long conflict that has resulted in the forced displacement of millions of people and extremely high rates of gender-based violence (GBV). While much attention has understandably focused on conflict-related sexual violence, intimate partner violence (IPV) is in fact one of the most pervasive forms of GBV, including in conflict settings. This paper presents results of a large, randomised survey looking at both sexual and intimate partner violence. Formerly displaced women had 11 per cent greater odds of reporting past-year IPV (p < 0.05), and currently displaced women reported 20 per cent greater odds of IPV in the past-year (p < 0.001). Women who reported ever being displaced also reported 8.5 per cent greater odds (p < 0.001) of past-year sexual violence. Both displacement and war-related experiences are highly and significantly associated with lifetime and past-year IPV and sexual violence. By acknowledging and creating programs that explicitly address the high risk of violence faced by displaced women, we may more effectively break the cycles of violence in fragile settings.

The Force Intervention Brigade in the drc, Civilian Security and Women Peace and Security

Abstract This article examines the UN Security Council (unsc) authorised Force Intervention Brigade (fib) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (drc) and the component of the mandate that articulates civilian security as a rationale for justified force. In examining civilian protection (articulated as both civilian security and as the protection of civilians), we explore the parallels between the women, peace and security agenda and the image – versus the reality – of civilian vulnerability in the drc. In focusing on the narratives of civilian security we explore how the ten years of repeat authorisations for the fib replicate heteronormative and colonial tropes that have ultimately undermined security in the drc and, for international lawyers, undermine peacekeeping principles, authorisations of force, and understandings of consent. The contradictions between the Security Council’s commitments to addressing and preventing conflict-related sexual violence and the mobilisation of the fib are drawn on to demonstrate the ways in which gender simultaneously strengthens the Council’s legitimacy and yet produces few spaces of significant change from a feminist perspective. We conclude that not only is the legacy of the fib detrimental to women’s security in the drc given reports of sexual exploitation and abuse (sea) perpetrated by peacekeepers but that the fib has transformed peacekeeping away from peace, embedding militarised responses to a complex humanitarian crisis.

Strategies for primary healthcare in Ukraine: An integrated response to gender-based violence

Abstract Issue/problem Survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) and conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) in Ukraine face significant challenges in accessing appropriate healthcare services. Despite governmental commitment, acknowledgment and regulatory frameworks, including the ratification of the Istanbul Convention, gaps persist in integrating comprehensive GBV/CRSV services into primary healthcare (PHC) settings, exacerbated by the ongoing conflict with Russia. Description of the problem An analysis of healthcare providers’ knowledge has revealed deficiencies in effectively supporting GBV/CRSV survivors. Barriers include workload pressures, lack of inter-sectoral cooperation and case-management protocols, and insufficient training opportunities on survivor support. In collaboration with the World Health Organization, the global Clinical Management of Rape (CMR) guidelines was adapted for Ukrainian context. Among findings from CMR trainings attended by 443 PHC providers in 2022-2023 (213 participants in 2022 and 230 participants in 2023), the results underscore gaps in PHC workers’ basic knowledge and readiness to effectively support survivors during the war. Results Data from WHO training sessions underscored significant gaps in knowledge among healthcare professionals regarding legal protocols, available resources, and best practices in PHC service delivery. Identified barriers emphasized the urgent need for targeted interventions to enhance PHC workers’ capacity in GBV/CRSV response. Lessons Recommendations focus on systemic enhancements including revising regulatory frameworks, developing standardized protocols, and institutionalizing and providing comprehensive training programs. Innovative approaches like online courses, mentoring programs, and integrated service models are crucial for addressing multifaceted challenges. Key messages • A holistic GBV/CRSV response is an essential component in PHC. • This intersectoral survivor-centered approach provides safe spaces that can be adapted to other contexts in Europe.

Key mental health differences in conflict-related sexual violence and how sex, severity, and early intervention impact on improvement: a retrospective observational study

BackgroundConflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) is a significant health and human rights issue in humanitarian contexts, but there is a need of further research on differences between sexes in terms of severity of symptoms and improvement. Consequently, we explored the differences in severity and outcomes among male and female survivors of CRSV who received mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) in an armed conflict setting.MethodsWe retrospectively analysed medical records from 3442 CRSV survivors in a MHPSS programme in Borno State, Nigeria, between 2018 and 2019. Patient characteristics, severity (measured with Clinical Global Impression of Severity Scale [CGI-S scale]), and improvement (measured with Clinical Global Impression of improvement [CGI-I] scale) were assessed by an attending counsellor. We assessed predictors for severity and improvement using a multivariable logistic regression analysis and time to improvement by sex using Kaplan Meier (K–M) curves and Cox regression.ResultsWe included 3442 patients who had at least one CRSV event in this study (2955 [85.9%] female, 486 [14.1%] male, one unknown). The most prevalent categories of symptoms were depression (49.9%; n = 1716), post-traumatic (25.6%; n = 879), and anxiety (20.3%; n = 697) symptoms. Most patients had mild (59.0%; n = 1869/3170) or moderate (36.4%; n = 1153/3170) symptoms at baseline, with 4.7% having severe symptoms (n = 148/3170). The logistic regression analysis (n = 1106), showed male patients had a 59% higher odds of severe symptoms at baseline than female patients (aOR 1.59; 95% CI 1.04–2.45). Among males, those older than 55 years had three times higher odds of presenting severe symptoms than younger patients (aOR 3.65; 95% CI 1.43–9.34). Women aged 36–55 years were more likely to present improvement than younger female patients (aOR 1.32; 95% CI 1.11–1.58). For both sexes, prompt attention after a CRSV event (≤ 3 days) positively predicted improvement (aOR 13.9; 95% CI 1.48–130 males, aOR 2.11; 95% CI 1.22–3.64 females) compared to late attention. Time to improvement did not differ between sexes, with an average of at least three consultations needed to achieve improvement.ConclusionsOur study suggests that psychological attention of survivors within the first 72 h should be a priority. MHPSS programmes addressing CRSV should be inclusive to all patients, and gender-neutral approaches to ensure access, safety, confidentiality, and non-discrimination for all survivors should be developed.

Children Born of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence as Direct Victims under International Criminal Law

Abstract This article explores specific cases of children born of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) to ascertain the precise nature of their harm making them a unique category of victims under international criminal law. It will identify and illustrate, inter alia, the nature, intent and impact of their victimhood, detailing precisely how to prosecute crimes against and affecting these children at the International Criminal Court (ICC). The research eschews the conventional approach of regarding these children as secondary victims by surfacing direct crimes under ICC jurisdiction and positioning them firmly within investigative, prosecutorial and judicial attention.

Migrant survivors of conflict-related sexual violence accessing a specialist health service in Turin, Italy: a qualitative analysis of clinical forensic interview transcripts.

The Sexual Violence Relief center Soccorso Violenza Sessuale (SVS) is a specialist service, situated in Sant'Anna Hospital, an Obstetrics and Gynecology facility in Turin, North-West Italy. The study aimed to qualitatively analyze the transcripts of interviews routinely conducted by gynecologist and midwife in the first part of the medical examination of migrant patients accessing care at SVS after being subjected to conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) in their home country or during migration and to explore the adverse outcomes of such violence on their health. Interview transcripts were purposely selected to include adult migrant patients (age > 18) subjected to CRSV in the different phases of migration and accessing SVS from January 1st, 2014, to September 4th, 2023. Data was extracted from the SVS archive, anonymized, and thematically analyzed. In total, 43 interview transcripts were eligible for inclusion. All of them were related to cisgender women of Sub-Saharan origin describing different forms of violence as a driver for migration. CRSV was disclosed by 18 survivors as occurring in their home country and by 31 in transit (e.g., Libya), the most reported type being rape. 49% of the patients described adverse physical outcomes of CRSV, while 72% reported psychological sequelae. The findings confirm high levels and different modalities of violence throughout the migratory route. Qualitative analysis of interview transcripts served as a valuable source for understanding how survivors described the CRSV they endured, its consequences, as well as other violence encountered during migration.

Unspeakable: reflections on relational approaches to research in post-conflict settings

ABSTRACT In this article, I offer reflections on a research project with former combatants who fathered children as the result of conflict-related sexual violence in northern Uganda. The research sought to understand how becoming a father shaped their decision making as soldiers, and reintegration experiences following demobilisation. What roles, if any, do they play in their children’s lives post-conflict, and what futures do they envision for them? I consider the ethical and methodological challenges of the research project through the concept of the unspeakable, what Judith Herman refers to as ‘traumatic events that take place outside socially validated reality.’ How does one come to know beyond what one can imagine, or that which is socially unrecognisable, such as the love of fathers associated with the perpetration of violent atrocities? I foreground a relational approach to the research encounter, one that fostered intimate, steadfast, and mutually giving relationships between the research team and participants, and opening pathways to explore intimacy between a father and child. I then reflect on what this methodology offers in terms of thinking beyond Western-centric conceptualizations of peacebuilding.

Merging Responsibilities

Abstract In emergent fields of practice, there is often an ‘ethics lag’ — a period of significant innovation during which the focus is on what can be accomplished more than on the safeguards that should be put in place to protect the public from the unanticipated consequences of that innovation. This is true of the emergent field of digital open-source investigations conducted for international criminal justice purposes, in which researchers and analysts comb the Internet for information relevant to their research. One sub-field where the ethics lag is particularly of concern is digital investigations of conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence (CRSV), especially with regards to whether and when investigators need consent from social media posters, survivors, bystanders and others to use information discovered in online spaces. This article explores options for centring and promoting victim safety and dignity by clarifying ethical issues that investigators should consider before using open-source information to support international investigations and prosecutions of CRSV. After identifying where the relevant law leaves gaps in guidance, the authors discuss a series of considerations that may help investigators ethically handle such sensitive data. Ultimately, the authors underscore the importance of securing consent from survivors when engaging in digital open-source investigations into sexual violence. What arguably varies is who should seek that consent, when, and how.

Family Therapy for Kosovar Mothers Who Experienced Conflict-Related Sexual Violence and Their Children in Postwar Times: A Pilot Randomised Waitlist-Controlled Trial.

Women who have experienced conflict-related sexual violence report significant long-term effects, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and relationship difficulties. Research has demonstrated that maternal trauma is associated with children's behavioural difficulties and challenges in family functioning, such as impaired communication and harsh parenting. This pilot study is aimed at evaluating the preliminary effectiveness of family therapy for Kosovar mothers who experienced conflict-related sexual violence in 1998-1999 and later developed PTSD and their children in improving family functioning and reducing behavioural difficulties in postwar times. Sixty-four mothers were randomised to an intervention group or a waitlist control group. Data was collected during a screening phase, at baseline before intervention initiation, after the intervention group completed family therapy and once the waitlist control group received the intervention. Generalised linear mixed models were used to analyse group differences in family functioning and children's behaviours over time. At follow-up, mothers in the intervention group reported improved family functioning. However, mothers in the waitlist control group reported significantly fewer behavioural difficulties than mothers in the intervention group before the control group had started family therapy. There was no significant interaction between group condition and time for child-rated family functioning. Overall, this pilot study suggests that family therapy could be effective in reducing the effects of intergenerational trauma related to PTSD and conflict-related sexual violence. Future research should evaluate the long-term effects of family therapy to assess if immediate effects were maintained.

The Normative Framework Behind the (Non-)Recognition of Children Born of War in International Criminal Law

Abstract This article traces the normative development in international criminal law on children born of war (cbow—i.e., children born in the context of an armed conflict to one parent who belongs to a local community and one parent who is an opposing combatant, fighter or peacekeeper). In a historical cross-contextual approach, primary and secondary sources, and particularly jurisprudence of international criminal courts from 1945 to today, are interpreted in reference to political psychologist Inger Skjelbæk’s epistemology conceptualising conflict-related sexual and reproductive violence as carrying essentialist, structuralist and socio-constructivist implications. The analysis traces how cbow as a group of victimised but underacknowledged war-affected children have come to be understood in international justice. The findings point to avenues for normative refinement that would facilitate a more coherent and unbiased integration of their interests into the practice of international courts.

Ideology and the Implicit Authorization of Violence as Policy: The Myanmar Military’s Conflict-Related Sexual Violence against the Rohingya

A partir del trabajo de campo original y de otras fuentes primarias y secundarias, evaluamos si la violencia sexual generalizada durante las operaciones militares de Myanmar en 2017 contra las comunidades rohinyás fue una política (ordenada o autorizada por los comandantes) o una práctica (impulsada desde abajo y tolerada por los comandantes). Argumentamos que la violencia sexual fue autorizada como una política basados en (1) la prolongada exclusión ideológica de los rohinyás del estatus de ciudadanos, así como el historial de ingeniería demográfica para limitar su reproducción, (2) el contexto de limpieza étnica y el control efectivo que ejercían los comandantes sobre las tropas, (3) la evidencia de que los militares ejecutan un patrón de violencia sexual contra los rohinyás diferente al usado contra otras minorías étnicas, incluyendo ataques contra su capacidad reproductiva, y (4) un largo y continuo historial de impunidad de la violencia sexual relacionada con el conflicto, incluyendo en contra de los rohinyás. Nuestro análisis contribuye a la comprensión académica de las condiciones bajo las cuales la violencia sexual es autorizada como política y aquellas bajo las cuales la ideología prescribe o legitima patrones específicos de violencia, incluida la limpieza étnica. También es oportuno para apoyar los esfuerzos por enjuiciar y prevenir la violencia sexual relacionada con los conflictos.

Beyond conflict-related sexual violence: the continuum of violence in Iraq’s Women, Peace and Security action plans

Women’s experiences of conflict and their roles in its prevention have become an increasingly large focus for feminist scholars, particularly since the adoption of the Women, Peace and Security agenda in 2000. Iraq has been at the forefront of engagement with the Women, Peace and Security agenda, being the first Middle East state to adopt a national action plan. This article analyses Iraq’s Women, Peace and Security action plans, largely drafted by women’s civil society organisations, using the concept of the ‘continuum of violence’. In doing so, the article shows how a fuller breadth of violence is used by Iraqi women writing and working on Women, Peace and Security inside Iraq than what appears in Women, Peace and Security resolutions. The article therefore contributes to critical engagements with the Women, Peace and Security agenda by addressing two themes: the agenda’s limited capture of gendered violence in conflict; and the agenda’s top-down nature when it comes to reconceptualising the agenda, its limits and its opportunities.

Distinguishing between the “soldier” and the “brute”: engraving hierarchies of masculinity in conflict-related sexual violence discourse

ABSTRACT On the one hand, feminists critique the securitization of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) on various grounds, but, on the other hand, also raise concerns that the Western hyper-fixation on CRSV reproduces colonial narratives about race, gender, and sexuality. However, the productive effects of specifically Western state discourse about CRSV have yet to be fully examined in this context. How do Western states make use of the colonial gaze in constructing CRSV as an issue of grave concern, and to what ends? Further, what are the implications of this for the nexus of feminist critique and praxis? This article utilizes a macro-structural approach to discourse analysis to analyze the 2014 Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, led by the United Kingdom. It argues that Western delegates securitized CRSV by relying on tropes of racialized men as maintaining backwards practices of gender and sexuality, and the construction of CRSV as a “pre-modern” weapon of war. This frame reproduces a racialized hierarchy of masculinity that constructs men from “conflict countries” as potential perpetrators in need of intervention, and men from “safe countries” as role models for gender-conscious militarized manhood. The article concludes by identifying potential practical implications of this discourse.

The gendered costs of stigma: How experiences of conflict‐related sexual violence affect civic engagement for women and men

AbstractA common understanding emphasizes the destructive effects of conflict‐related sexual violence (CRSV) on social cohesion and community life. Stressing the agency of survivors, we present an alternative argument. Our theory predicts that survivors seek to counteract the stigma attached to CRSV by contributing to the community in the form of civic engagement. Drawing on three original surveys from Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Liberia, and Sri Lanka and relying on list experiments to reduce underreporting bias, we find that survivors of CRSV indeed show increased levels of civic engagement. This civic effect is consistent across the three contexts and very likely causal. We also rule out an alternative mechanism based on posttraumatic growth and dispel concerns that increased civic engagement comes at the expense of decreased intergroup relations. However, looking at sex differences, our results are more sobering. While in line with our prediction, they do not support the optimistic notion that survivors' mobilization results in female empowerment and the closing of existing gender gaps in civic behavior. Our findings have important implications for our understanding of CRSV, the legacy of violent conflict, and the gendered nature of politics.

Coercive Recruitment and Combatant Socialization: Reanalyzing the Role of Child Soldiering on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence

Abstract Why do armed organizations perpetrate conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV)? One prominent explanation focuses on the need to sustain group solidarity following the introduction of new combatants, a phenomenon referred to as combatant socialization. In this article, I revisit recent quantitative research suggesting that rebel groups recruiting children as soldiers engage in CRSV to facilitate combatant socialization. I argue that child soldiering without coercive recruitment does not, ipso facto, degrade internal cohesion and resilience; it is the use of coercion during recruitment that decimates intra-group solidarity and thereby necessitates CRSV for combatant socialization. Consequently, child soldiering per se should not induce rebel-perpetrated CRSV, whereas forced child recruitment does patently increase it. Zero-inflated ordered logit analysis confirms the differential implications of distinct modes of child recruitment for rebels’ combatant socialization via CRSV. This article highlights the centrality of coercive recruitment in CRSV occurrence and advances knowledge about combatant socialization and CRSV estimation.

Sexual Violence Against Men in Civil Conflict

Sexual violence against men in conflict settings is neither a rare nor recent phenomenon, yet its absence in academic scholarship and humanitarian initiatives remains glaring. Despite the advances in our understanding of the determinants of wartime sexual violence against women, surprisingly little empirical research exists on sexual violence against men in conflict. Acts of sexual violence are commonly enacted against men in war, yet because they do not fit more narrow definitions of rape, accounts of these experiences are often misclassified as “torture.” Moreover, in many countries experiencing pervasive conflict-related sexual violence, there exist restrictive laws regarding sodomy and homosexuality, reducing the chances that males will report their experiences. Using originally coded data on sexual and gender identity laws and reported incidents of sexual violence in civil conflict, I find that laws that outline the protection of sexual and gender identity expression including the decriminalization of same-sex activity are significantly associated with reports of acts of sexual violence against men. The results speak to the gap in the literature on male sexual violence with tangible consequences for the distribution of humanitarian aid, availability of medical and psychological services for victims, and aims of peacekeeping missions.

Post-Traumatic Growth, Resilience and Social-Ecological Synergies: Some Reflections from a Study on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence

The concept of post-traumatic growth (PTG) continues to generate significant interest, as reflected in the increasing number of studies. This article makes two novel contributions to existing scholarship on PTG. First, it seeks to demonstrate that the common framing of PTG as positive psychological change is too narrow. To do so, it looks to research on resilience and highlights the shift from person-centred understandings of resilience to more relational approaches that situate the concept in the interactions and dynamics between individuals and their social ecologies (environments). The article’s core argument is that there are social-ecological synergies between resilience and PTG, which, in turn, are highly relevant to how we think about and study growth. Second, the article empirically develops this argument by drawing on a larger study involving victims-/survivors of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Colombia and Uganda. It is important to note in this regard that there are no major studies of PTG focused on CRSV, just as scholarship on CRSV has given little attention to PTG (or indeed resilience).

Individual agency and social support in healing from conflict-related sexual violence: A case history from eastern DRC

ABSTRACT Examining the experience of a male survivor of rape through the salutogenic model and ecological theory, this case study explores how he moved towards the direction of health after an atrocious experience of sexual violence perpetrated by members of an armed group. The study illustrates how he was able to deploy agency by undertaking a number of health-promoting actions to recover from the physical, mental, and social effects of conflict-related sexual violence. Initiatives in the process of improving one’s health include self-care practice, searching for specialised care when self-care seems inefficient, relocation to new a setting post-rape, starting a business, testing one’s reproductive capacities, marrying, taking care of the way he dressed, learning a new language, developing public speaking skills, owning a piece of land, having regular medical check-ups and ascending to power and decision-making bodies. His narrative shows how these initiatives are mirrored by both opportunities and setbacks. While more traditional survey-based studies focus on identifying which practices might be helpful in a healing context, this study sheds light on how an individual healing process might be complex and nuanced and is an important starting point towards our efforts to theorise resilience for male survivors.