Review article
The crime of rape in the ICTY's and the ICTR's case-law
Sandra Fabijanić Gagro
; Faculty of law, University of Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia
Abstract
Despite the fact that women may be active participants in armed conflicts as soldiers, they are still mostly the victims. Violation against women during war time is not just an act of sexual violence, but rather a method of warfare, i.e., an instrument of revenge and a means of dishonouring not just the woman, but “her man“ and in the end the whole nation. Through the case-law of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (hereinafter: ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (hereinafter: ICTR) it has become obvious that the crime of rape is no longer a matter of state, but that it has been recognized as a crime on the international level – as a crime against humanity, serious war crime, and (in some cases where we can fortify and sustain a mens rea) even genocide. The fact that many women do not acknowledge what happened - because of the traditional upbringing and rigid religious systems, is at the same time interesting and daunting. In many cases being a rape victim is a shame for the raped woman.
Keywords
armed conflicts; rape; ICTY; ICTR; crime against humanity; war crime; crime of genocide
Hrčak ID:
62994
URI
Publication date:
21.12.2010.
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