Rape, war, genocide: A strategy to deliberate extermination

Evidence indicates that rape crimes of women and men, in war, are committed systematically and strategically, while sexual violence forms a central and fundamental weapon against an opposing group. For centuries, armies considered rape as unavoidable, legitimate spoils of war. Sexual violence in conflict was tacitly accepted and used as weapon and strategy rather than as an “inevitable,” “collateral” result of “unfortunate” coincidental encounters with an enemy. The chapter examines and seeks to explain these shocking phenomena that too often affect the Global South. It focuses on how the sexual assault and rape of women and men affect the future of the ethnic and national communities? Could we use the term “genocide” to describe mass rape in war, notwithstanding the fact that the majority of rape victims are not killed? Will the growing interdependence between national and international legal and political institutions lead to more global attention to the problem? How are the check and balance mechanisms of national and international bodies (legal, political, medical, human rights, NGOs, and other organizations) helping and reacting to the phenomenon of rape in war? This chapter looks for answers to these important questions.