War has never brought any good to mankind. The heinous consequences of a war have scarred
people for generations. Sexual violence is one of such heinous crimes. Sexual violence is
regarded as an inevitable by-product of war. Sexual violence in conflict zones (SVCZ) is one of
the most persistent and neglected crime in history. Sexual violence is defined under sexual
violence in armed conflict (SVAC) dataset as Rape, Sexual slavery, Forced prostitution, Forced
pregnancy, Forced sterilization/Abortion, Sexual mutilation, and Sexual torture.
Sexual violence in conflicted zones was regarded as collateral damage up until 1990s then after it
was regarded as crime against humanity. The very fact that SVCZ were regarded as collateral
damage shows how neglected the crime was. One such instance of the heinous crime was during
the partition of India in 1947.During the partition of India, people mass migrated from one
country to another country and the phenomenon was accompanied by communal violence which
included SV (sexual violence). Women were abducted , killed , violated and abandoned.
There was even an agreement between the India and Pakistan to send the women back to their families.
But no one came forward to claim them on fear of dishonor and eventually they were forced into
prostitution.
STORY OF COMFORT WOMEN
Another such instance at international level is comfort women. During World War 2, Japanese
set up stations and called them as comfort stations, where women were recruited to be sex slaves
by and to Japanese military army. In the beginning women were recruited voluntarily but
eventually it turned to a mass recruitment of women to become sex slaves on false pretext of
providing jobs like sewing uniforms for soldiers, factory jobs e.tc. Women were recruited from
Philippines, Burma, Thailand, Taiwan and most of the women are from Korea.
Comfort women were forcefully raped, beaten and killed. They had to attend to 20-30 men per
day. The irony of the situation is the comfort stations were set up to reduce the growing number
of rapes committed by Japanese soldiers. After the Japanese lost the war, they killed most of
women to hide the truth. Some of women were saved by the American army but on return to
their homelands, they were not accepted by their community. They remained silent as to what
happened to them so as get their community’s acceptance. Japanese has wiped out all the
records. The matter had been in dark for so long until some women opened up about their
experience.
What had been in dark for so long became an active conflict for justice. A tribunal
was set up called Women’s international war crimes tribunal on Japan’s military sexual slavery.
The case was The prosecutors and people of Asia Pacific region v.hirohita emperor showa when
the emperor was held guilty of crimes committed by the Japanese army. Contemporarily a
bronze statue of bare foot girl was set up outside Japan embassy in South Korea which paid
homage to comfort women.
The statue led to awareness worldwide and brought shame on Japanese government. Then the countries of South Korea and Japan entered into an agreement in which the Japanese agreed to issue a sincere apology and provide 8.3 million dollars as compensation to the surviving victims.
From the instances mentioned we can find the answer to the question why there is gender based sexual violence during conflicts. Sexual violence is not Rape out of control but Rape under orders .Women bodies are considered as markers of community honour. Sexual violence is used as tactic of war generally to humiliate the
community. The gender discrimination is main reason of sexual violence. The heinous rationale
of SVCZ is that by violating women, the men of the community are humiliated. It is used as
horrific means of group bonding and a way for men to prove exaggerated versions of male
sexuality
POST CONFLICT SETTING
Sexual violence also occurs during aftermath of the war due various reasons. This sexual
violence is inflicted by member of conflict community, men of own community, peace keeper,
police service, etc. Sexual violence is used as means to tell that even though the community has
lost everything, Man is still the dominant one. In post conflict setting, women’s traditional role of
taking care of the family remains relevant whereas men’s traditional role of earning the bread is
lost due to war which causes frustration to men. As a consequence women are subjected to
physical and sexual violence by men of their family.
STATISTICS AND PATTERN IN SVCZ
According to a 2011 report written by women against sexual violence and state repression,
women and children are extremely vulnerable to abuse and exploitation .Sexual violence in
conflict zone can be against women, men and children but women are more subjected to sexual
violence (reporting and other factors should be taken into consideration) and According to
IMAGES data, Men are more likely to inflict sexual violence on women. A study on offenders of
SVAC reveals that, Men who are subjected to violence in domestic setting, Men who have
grown up in society where such violence is considered normal(during war) are most likely to
inflict sexual violence against women in conflict and post conflict setting.
CONSEQUENCES
The consequences of sexual violence are Women and men as victims and witnesses. The main
purpose of Sexual violence is to objectify women and such violation marks as symbols of
conquered territories. One cannot equate the trauma of direct victim with witness but violence is
sure to impact both victim and witness. Women subjected to sexual violence can suffer from
trauma and many other psychological problems.
In several instances the people of the community along with victim relatives are made to witness the horrific act so as to humiliate the community men and assert dominance over the community. Sexual violence also impact the
women in general residing in conflict zone as a result women of the community are pressurized
to stay and home and their mobility is restricted.
NON REPORTING OF CASES
The major problem associated with sexual violence is not reporting of cases. Many cases go
unreported due to cultural, societal norms. Non reporting of cases can lead to misinformation
and incorrect statistics. This can undermine the gravity of the situation leading to negligence.
Many other factors such as religious. Limited domestic redressal mechanisms, loss of faith in
system, corrupted administration e,tc can be contributing factors of less reporting of cases.
Generally reporting of cases of sexual violence in women is less. Unreported cases are many in
number and if they are reported give the actual gravity of the situation. In case of sexual violence
inflicted on men, the reported cases are very less compared to sexual violence inflicted on
women and children in conflict zones. This creates a false assumption that sexual violence
inflicted on men is less but the reality can be different.
CONCLUSION
Sexual violence is one of most heinous war crime. Many international mechanism such as
UN(Declaration of commitment to end sexual violence in conflict zones)and National
mechanisms and institutions have come forward to prevent the crime and provide justice to the
victims but the crime is still prevalent at all levels of conflict zones. The root cause of problem is
gender discrimination. Sexual violence leaves a deep psychological scar on the victim and
society. There is need to address the issue in earnest and with empathy.
REFERENCES
- http://www.UN.org Sexual violence in conflict zone, a challenge for international law by
Bharat h desai and Balraj k sindhu. - TOAEP Sexual violence in conflict zone and state response in India by Poona Bakshi.
- Men engage-UNFPA Advocacy brief –Sexual violence in conflict and post conflict:
Engaging men and boys. - Conflict related sexual violence by Swedish Defense University.
- http://www.britannica.com Partition of India.
