The Women Under Siege Project, an independent initiative of the Women's Media Centre, documents how rape and other forms of sexualised violence are used as tools of genocide and conflict in the 20th century and into the 21st. Less than a year old, Women Under Siege is a really original research site. It has original content, interesting blog posts and uses technology to document offences in real time- such as creating a live, crowd sourced map of rape in Syria (Disclaimer: I am a sometime contributor to their blog).
Rape is often considered to be something which 'happens' during conflict as if it is somehow insignificant or less serious than other crimes. Rape is much more than that however- it is a weapon which can be deployed to devastating effect. The International Criminal Court has recognised in numerous indictments that rape can be used as a tool of genocide. Rape can be used to destroy the social fabric of communities and forced pregnancies are also a way of 'cleansing or diluting' a particular ethnic group.
There is growing awareness of the reality of the use of rape as tool of conflict. Although it is hardly a new phenomenon, the use of sexualised violence in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s and Darfur in the early 2000s really brought the issue to attention.
There are a number of high level international initiatives aimed at combating the use of sexualised violence in conflict such as the UN's Stop Rape Now campaign. In May this year, the UK's Foreign Secretary William Hague launched the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative.
These initiatives may not seem like much - too theoretical perhaps- but they are highly significant. They signify a massive change in how sexual violence is viewed and are a massive step forward for the prevention of such crimes. Hopefully concrete action will follow.
Rape is often considered to be something which 'happens' during conflict as if it is somehow insignificant or less serious than other crimes. Rape is much more than that however- it is a weapon which can be deployed to devastating effect. The International Criminal Court has recognised in numerous indictments that rape can be used as a tool of genocide. Rape can be used to destroy the social fabric of communities and forced pregnancies are also a way of 'cleansing or diluting' a particular ethnic group.
There is growing awareness of the reality of the use of rape as tool of conflict. Although it is hardly a new phenomenon, the use of sexualised violence in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s and Darfur in the early 2000s really brought the issue to attention.
There are a number of high level international initiatives aimed at combating the use of sexualised violence in conflict such as the UN's Stop Rape Now campaign. In May this year, the UK's Foreign Secretary William Hague launched the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative.
These initiatives may not seem like much - too theoretical perhaps- but they are highly significant. They signify a massive change in how sexual violence is viewed and are a massive step forward for the prevention of such crimes. Hopefully concrete action will follow.
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