This edited volume focuses on developments in recognizing, investigating, and prosecuting cases of sexual violence in (post-)conflict situations from an interdisciplinary angle. The investigation and prosecution of these cases raises new and challenging questions as to how to build evidence, but also how to address victims’ concerns in that process. It addresses innovations and challenges of empirical and other new kinds of social scientific, archival and medical data collection techniques; the development of evidence in relation to charges ranging from sexual violence as a war crime, crime against humanity to genocide; evidentiary and procedural achievements and challenges involved in prosecuting sexual victimization in international courts; and how to create awareness of sexual violence crimes in order to recognize such crimes and to prevent them in the future.
Contributors: Lynn Lawry, Kirsten Johnson, Jana Asher, Maxine Marcus, John Hagan, Richard Brooks, Todd Haugh, Chen Reis, Kelly Askin, Valerie Oosterveld, Sandesh Sivakumaran, Patricia Viseur Sellers, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, Linda Bianchi, Michelle Jarvis, Elena Martin Salgado, Sara Sharratt, Brigid Inder, Rachel Irwin, Teresa Doherty, Anne-Marie de Brouwer, Charlotte Ku, Renée Römkens, Larissa van den Herik, and Silke Studzinsky.
About this book
‘Sexual Violence as an International Crime: Interdisciplinary Approaches is a comprehensive, valuable and – above all, stimulating – contribution to the literature on sexual violence and international criminal law. [T]he wide range of perspectives on the prosecution of crimes of sexual violence in international law […] with all the relevant international criminal courts and tribunals being addressed, combined with the clarity and insightfulness of the analysis, make this collection stand out from other publications in the field. […]The appealing feature of this collection is its interdisciplinary nature. […] Sexual Violence as an International Crime makes a strong contribution to literature on sexual violence and international criminal law and is a most useful resource, not merely for those with research interests in international criminal justice and gender crimes. Finally, while the journey towards achieving justice for gender crimes is not yet complete, this edited collection reminds readers of the major achievements of international criminal law in prosecuting sexual violence.’
Olga Jurasz in Journal of Int’l Criminal Justice (2014) 398
‘In addition to discussing the changes in the law and in the courts, the book’s greatest contribution is as a testament to the seismic change that has occurred around the globe during the last twenty years regarding the social construct and understanding of gender-based violence as an act of war or a violation of human rights. […]Reaching back into the past while providing lessons for the future, this timely book is a worthwhile read for anyone interested about the handling of sexual violence cases in post-conflict regimes.’
Margareth Etienne in JOTWELL (2013)
‘This volume will serve as an aperçu for law students, human rights defenders, academics, practitioners and judges; representing a great effort of bringing together international experiences in prosecuting sexual violence as an international crime and ways forward to effectively achieve this.’
Cecilia Toledo Escobar in German Yearbook of International Law (2014) 629
Chapter 1. Interdisciplinary Approaches to Recognizing, Investigating and Prosecuting Sexual Violence as an International Crime (p. 1)
Chapter 2. Treatment of Sexual Violence in Armed Conflicts: A Historical Perspective and the Way Forward (p. 15)
Chapter 3. Prosecuting Gender-Based Persecution as an International Crime (p. 57)
Chapter 4. Prosecuting Sexual Violence against Men and Boys (p. 79)
Chapter 5. Future Challenges to Prosecuting Sexual Violence Under International Law: Insights from ICTY Practice (p. 99)
Chapter 6. The Prosecution of Rape and Sexual Violence: Lessons from Prosecutions at the ICTR (p. 123)
Chapter 7. The Place of Sexual Violence in the Strategy of the ICC Prosecutor (p. 151)
Chapter 8. Jurisprudential Developments Relating to Sexual Violence: The Legacy of the Special Court for Sierra Leone (p. 157)
Chapter 9. Victims of Sexual and Gender-Based Crimes Before the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia: Challenges of Rights to Participation and Protection (p. 173)
Chapter 10. Ethical, Safety and Methodological Issues Related to Collection and Use of Data on Sexual Violence in Conflict (p. 187)
Chapter 11. Investigation of Crimes of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Under International Criminal Law (p. 211)
Chapter 12. Evidence-Based Documentation of Gender-Based Violence (p. 243)
Chapter 13. “Reasonable Grounds” Evidence Involving Sexual Violence in Darfur (p. 275)
Chapter 14. Partners for Gender Justice (p. 313)
Chapter 15. “How Can You Meet Your Rapist and Shake His Hand?”: The Role of Documentarians in Creating Awareness about Sexual Violence – An Interview with Filmmakers Ilse and Femke van Velzen (p. 339)
Chapter 16. Voices of Court Members: A Phenomenological Journey – The Prosecution of Rape and Sexual Violence at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the Bosnian War Crimes Court (BIH) (p. 353)
Chapter 17. How to Move Forward? Interdisciplinary Approaches to Recognizing, Investigating and Prosecuting Sexual Violence as an International Crime (p. 373)
About the Contributors (p. 389)
Parts of this book have been made open access. We make chapters open access because they are particularly topical, or provide a useful introduction to the subject. They may be available for a limited time or indefinitely. Some books are entirely and permanently open access.
Countries emerging from long periods of authoritarian rule must often confront a legacy of gross human rights abuses perpetrated over many years. During the past two decades, these age-old issues have been termed “problems of transitional justice”, both by academics and policy makers around the world. Given the frequency with which these problems arise, as well as the complexity of the issues involved, it is striking that no book series has taken the issue of transitional justice as its point of focus.
The Series on Transitional Justice offers a platform for high-quality research within the rapidly growing field of transitional justice. This research is, of necessity, inter-disciplinary in nature, drawing from disciplines such as law, political science, history, sociology, criminology, anthropology and psychology, as well as from various specialised fields of study such as human rights, victimology and peace studies. It is furthermore international in outlook, drawing on the knowledge and experience of academics and other specialists in many different regions of the world.
The series is aimed at a variety of audiences who are either working or interested in fields such as crime and justice; human rights; humanitarian law and human security; conflict resolution and peace building. These audiences may include academics, researchers, students, policy makers, practitioners, non-governmental organisations and the media.
Editorial board:
- Prof. Stephan Parmentier (University of Leuven, Belgium)
- Prof. Jeremy Sarkin (NOVA University of Lisbon School of Law, Portugal) and
- Dr. Mina Rauschenbach (Université de Lausanne, Switzerland and University of Leuven, Belgium)
With a subscription to the series you enjoy a 15% discount on each volume.
