WARTIME RAPE RESOURCES
These are Wartime Rape and Rape as a Weapon of War Resources.
Please also see: Hate Crimes Resources || Genocide
ARTICLES/INFORMATION/RESEARCH
(click here for Organizations/Agencies)
125 women and girls raped in South Sudan over horrifying 10-day attack
"In a horrifying attack that left aid workers speechless, 125 women and girls were raped over a 10-day period in South Sudan, according to Doctors Without Borders.
Assailants whipped, clubbed and sexually assaulted the victims after they walked to a food distribution center, the relief organization said.
The attacks occurred between Nov. 19 and Thursday, it said on Saturday.
A midwife with the group who treated some survivors said those who were targeted included pregnant and elderly women and girls as young as 10."
AP, December 1, 2018
Nobel peace winners demand action against sex abuse
"OSLO, Norway (AP) — One of the winners of this year's Nobel Peace Prize says the attention the prize has drawn to sexual violence against women in war zones must be followed by action against the abuses.
Dr. Denis Mukwege spoke Sunday at a news conference with Nadia Murad of Iraq, with whom he shared the 9-million Swedish kronor ($1 million) prize. Mukwege was honored for his work helping sexually abused women at the hospital he founded in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Murad, a Yazidi, won for her advocacy for sex abuse victims after being kidnapped by Islamic State militants.
"What we see during armed conflicts is that women's bodies become battlefields and this cannot be acceptable during our time," Mukwege said, speaking through a translator. "We cannot only denounce it, we now need to act."
Murad, 25, was one of an estimated 3,000 girls and women from Iraq's Yazidi minority group who were kidnapped in 2014 by IS militants and sold into sexual slavery. She was raped, beaten and tortured before managing to escape three months later. After getting treatment in Germany, she chose to speak to the world about the horrors faced by Yazidi women, despite regardless of the heavy stigma in her culture surrounding rape."
AP , December 9, 2018
Activists win Nobel Peace Prize for efforts to end sexual violence in war
"OSLO, Norway — The Nobel Peace Prize on Friday was awarded to a Congolese doctor and a Yazidi former captive of the Islamic State group for their work to highlight and eliminate the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war.
Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad "have made a crucial contribution to focusing attention on, and combating, such war crimes," the Norwegian Nobel Committee said in its announcement."
AP, October 5, 2018
Rape As an Act of Genocide: From Rwanda to Iraq
"The governments of Rwanda and Iraq have agreed to work together to fight rape as a weapon of genocide, noting disturbing similarities between sexual violence in Iraq today to the Rwandan genocide twenty years ago.
Just as targeted rape was as much a tool of the Rwandan genocide as the machete, an estimated 3000 Iraqi Yazidis under ISIL's captivity are currently facing acts of genocide and targeted sexual violence, including sexual slavery."
http://www.aina.org November 18, 2016
'I told my story face to face with Habré': courageous rape survivors make history
"At night, Chad’s dictator would sit at his desk, smoking and watching as his agents tortured Khadidja Zidane. Hissène Habré did not know Zidane, an illiterate, poor woman. When he had had enough of watching, he would send her away, then have her brought back in the early hours of the morning to rape her.
For three decades, Zidane told no one. For the raped, tortured and starved women lucky enough to get out of Habré’s secret jails alive, the guards had a very effective way of ensuring their silence: they threatened to bring them back."
www.theguardian.com September 18, 2016
International court convicts former Congolese VP Jean-Pierre Bemba for commanding militia to murder, rape and pillage
" The International Criminal Court convicted a former Congolese vice president Monday of murder, rape and pillage for commanding troops who committed widespread atrocities in the Central African Republic in 2002-2003.
The conviction of Jean-Pierre Bemba marked the first time the court has convicted a suspect based on his role as a military commander. It also was the court's first judgment focusing on a brutal campaign of rape by troops in an armed conflict."
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Rape as a Weapon of War
"The laws of war prohibit the use of all weapons or tactics of warfare that cause superfluous injury, unnecessary suffering, or violate "principles of humanity and the dictates of public conscience." Rape is a prohibited weapon or tactic of war under the criteria set by the laws of war. Yet, despite the endemic use of rape as a weapon, no state has ever been held accountable for the use of rape as a prohibited weapon of war."
http://www.globaljusticecenter.net
Sexual violence as a weapon of war
"Violence against women, especially rape, has added its own brand of shame to recent wars. From conflicts in Bosnia and Herzegovina to Peru to Rwanda, girls and women have been singled out for rape, imprisonment, torture and execution. Rape, identified by psychologists as the most intrusive of traumatic events, has been documented in many armed conflicts including those in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Cyprus, Haiti, Liberia, Somalia and Uganda."
http://www.unicef.org
How did rape become a weapon of war?
"Women's bodies have become part of the terrain of conflict, according to a new report by Amnesty International. "
BBC News
Rape: Weapon of war
"Is rape really a matter for the United Nations? The Security Council has answered that question with a resounding yes by voting unanimously for a resolution describing rape as a tactic of war and a threat to international security. But perhaps the more important question is: Will the resolution give teeth to efforts to stem sexual violence against women in conflict situations?"
http://www.ohchr.org
Trauma, stigma, face girls, women rescued from Boko Haram
"YOLA, Nigeria (AP)—The taunts wouldn't stop. 'Boko Haram wives,' the schoolgirls were called because they had been briefly held by Nigeria's Islamic extremists before escaping. The teasing was so relentless that some of the Chibok girls left their town and families.
Their plight does not bode well for hundreds of girls and women recently rescued from months of captivity by Boko Haram, including dozens who are pregnant. After enduring captivity by the militants, the females may now face stigma from their communities."
Associated Press, May 10, 2015.
UN: More Child Abuse Cases Possible in C. African Republic
"UNITED NATIONS—The United Nations on Friday said 'it is possible, it's horribly possible' that more allegations of sexual abuse of children by French and other soldiers in Central African Republic could come to light as investigations continue."
Associated Press, May 01, 2015.
UN report: 2014 marked by extremists' use of rape, sexual slavery and forced marriage
"UNITED NATIONS—Secretary-General Ban Ki–moon said 2014 was marked by harrowing accounts of rape, sexual slavery and forced marriage being used by extremists including the Islamic State group and Boko Haram.
In a report released Monday, the U.N. chief expressed 'grave concern' over sexual violence perpetrated by armed groups, including those promoting extremist ideologies in Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Nigeria, Mali, Libya and Yemen.
'The confluence of crises wrought by violent extremism has revealed a shocking trend of sexual violence employed as a tactic of terror by radical groups,' Ban said."
Daily News, April 14, 2015.
United Nations commemorates grim anniversary of Boko Haram mass kidnapping of children as report reveals 800K displaced
"'Children have become deliberate targets, often subjected to extreme violence—from sexual abuse and forced marriage to kidnappings and brutal killings,' the report said. 'Children have also become weapons, made to fight alongside armed groups and at times used as human bombs'."
Daily News, April 13, 2015.
U.N. accuses Islamic State of executions, rape, forced child recruitment in Iraq
"ISIL and associated armed groups have also continued to... perpetrate targeted assassinations (of) community, political, and religious leaders, government employees, education professionals, health workers... sexual assault, rape and other forms of sexual violence against women and girls, forced recruitment of children, kidnappings, executions, robberies."
Reuters Press, July 18, 2014.
Former Korean 'comfort women' for U.S. troops sue own government
"The suit comes as an embarrassing distraction for the South Korean government, which has pushed Japan to properly atone for what it says were World War Two atrocities including forcing women, many of them Korean, to serve as sex slaves for its soldiers.
The women claim the South Korean government trained them and worked with pimps to run a sex trade through the 1960s and 1970s for U.S. troops, encouraged women to work as prostitutes and violated their human rights."
Reuters Press, July 11, 2014.
Nigerian Unrest: Gunmen Abduct 'about 100' Schoolgirls.
"The school is located not far from where the Islamist militant group Boko Haram have been carrying out attacks, as the BBC's Will Ross reports."
BBC News, April 15, 2014
- Boko Haram: a bloody insurgency, a growing challenge.
"It made headlines again this week with the abduction of more than 100 schoolgirls in the town of Chibok in northeastern Nigeria. After a fierce gunbattle with soldiers, the militants herded the girls out of bed and onto buses, and sped off. Only a few of the 129 girls have been freed. What exactly is Boko Haram, and why has it turned into a Nigerian synonym for fear and bloodshed?"
CNN.com, April 17, 2014 - Parents: 234 girls kidnapped from Nigeria school
CHIBOK, Nigeria (AP) "Some 234 girls are missing from the northeast Nigerian school attacked last week by Islamic extremists, significantly more than the 85 reported by education officials, parents told the state governor Monday."
Yahoo News, April 21, 2014. - Nigerians hold second day of protests over mass abductions
"Hundreds of protesters marched in the streets of the Nigerian capital on Wednesday, demanding that the government do more to find scores of schoolgirls abducted by armed militants more than two weeks ago"
New York Times, April 30, 2014. - Nigeria's Stolen Girls
"The circumstances of the kidnapping, and the military's deception, especially, have exposed a deeply troubling aspect of Nigeria's leadership: when it comes to Boko Haram, the government cannot be trusted."
The New Yorker, April 30, 2014. - Boko Haram Claims Responsibility for Schoolgirl Kidnapping
The Islamist militant group Boko Haram claimed responsibility on Monday for the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls during a raid in the village of Chibok in northeast Nigeria last month, the French news agency AFP reported, citing a video it had obtained.
Voice of America, May 05, 2014. - Boko Haram leader: "I will sell them"
"I will sell them," Boko Haram leader says of kidnapped Nigerian girls.
CNN.com, May 5, 2014. - Nigerian Girl Describes Kidnap: 26 Still Missing
There were too many gunmen co count, said the girl who escaped. So, even after the students realized the men were Islamist extremists, they obediently sat in the dirt. The men set the school ablaze and herded the girl's group into the backs of three pickup trucks.
Time.com, May 05, 2014. - Nigerian authorities failed to act on warnings about Boko Haram raid on school: Amnesty International
Damning testimonies gathered by Amnesty International reveal that Nigerian security forces failed to act on advance warnings about Boko Haram's armed raid on the state–run boarding school in Chibok which led to the abduction of more than 240 schoolgirls on 14–15 April, 2014. - Nigeria Refused Help in Searching for Kidnapped Girls
The president of Nigeria for weeks refused international help to search for more than 300 girls abducted from a school by Islamic extremists, one in a series of missteps that have led to growing international outrage against the government.
Associated Press, May 10, 2014. - Lost Forever? Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan cowers amid terror
"The Governor of Borno State Kashim Shettima says the federal government has been "deaf, dumb and blind" to the threat posed by Boko Haram for three years."
NBC News, May 16, 2014. - Nigerian Government calls off deal with Boko Haram for Release of Schoolgirls
"The Nigerian government has called off a deal with Boko Haram to return some of the kidnapped schoolgirls in exchange for the release of group members in custody, the BBC reports."
International Business Times, May 26, 2014. - Boko Haram and the Kidnapping of Chibok Schoolgirls
"Despite an outcry from the international community, social media and civil society, this operation was consistent with Boko Haram's previous militant activities in the Nigeria–Cameroon–Chad–Niger border region and its founder Muhammad Yusuf's non–recognition of colonial–era political boundaries that "cut off Niger and Chad and amalgamated [Borno] with infidels."[3] As Shekau, who is Yusuf's former deputy, said in his May 5 statement, 'we don't know Cameroon or Chad—I don't have a country. Islamiyya is what I have.'[4]"
Combatting Terrorism Center, West Point, May 29, 2014. - Nigeria wraps up kidnap investigation with 200 girls still missing
"Submitting the final report, Brigadier General Ibrahim Sabo said 219 girls remained at large, a total virtually unchanged since Boko Haram militants stormed their secondary school in northeast Borno state on April 14 to kidnap them."
Reuters Press, June 20, 2014.
Mau Mau torture victims to receive compensation — Hague
BBC News, June 06, 2013
Japanese politician calls wartime sex slaves 'necessary'
CNN, May 15, 2013
Sexual Violence in War Is Our Generation's Slave Trade
Huffington Post, January 28, 2013
Former Liberian leader Taylor jailed for 50 years
Reuters, May 30, 2012
Kamel: France should face its own massacres first
Today's Zaman, December 23, 2011
Afghanistan: Imprisoned Rape Victim Freed
Huffington Post, December 14, 2011
DLA Lawyers Working to Combat Sex Assault in Zimbabwe
Law.com, April 14, 2009
Rape Victims' Words Help Jolt Congo Into Change
New York Times, October 17, 2008
Amnesty Condemns Sudan Rapes
Reuters, July 19, 2004
- Sudan: Rape as a Weapon of War
Report from Amnesty International, July 19, 2004
Rape, a Weapon of War
News24.com, October 3, 2002
NATO Arrests Serb War Crimes Suspect
The Associated Press, July 9, 2002
- Bosnian Serb Refuses to Plead to Foca Rape Charges
Reuters, July 12, 2002
U.S.: Myanmar Rape Reports Appalling
The Associated Press, July 5, 2002
Bosnian Serb Convicted for Foca Camp Horrors
Reuters, March 15, 2002
Study Documents War-Time Sex Abuse in Sierra Leone
Reuters Health, January 22, 2002
Bosnia Concentration Camp Guards Jailed
BBC News, November 2, 2001
Sexual Violence as Tool of War: Pattern Emerging in East Timor
The New York Times, March 1, 2001
Bosnia: Landmark Verdicts for Rape, Torture, and Sexual Enslavement
Report from Human Rights Watch, February 22, 2001, regarding the International Criminal Tribunal's convictions of Dragoljub Kunarac, Radomir Kovac, and Zoran Vukovic for rape, torture, and enslavement.
Rape Victims' Babies Pay the Price of War
The Observer, April 16, 2000
Rape and Mutilation Continue in Sierra Leone
BBC News, February 2, 2000
The Forgotten Victims of Hate
The Guardian, September 14, 1999
War Crimes Lawyers Build Files on Rapists
The Guardian, April 15, 1999
Women, Rape, and War: The Continued Trauma of Refugees and Displaced Persons in Croatia
Anthropology of East Europe Review 1995
ORGANIZATIONS/AGENCIES
(click here for Articles/Information/Research)
Campaign to Stop Torture
Amnesty International
322 8th Avenue
New York, NY 10001
Phone: (212) 807-8400
www.amnesty.org/en/campaigns/counter-terror-with-justice/issues/torture-and-accountability
Amnesty International's Campaign to stop torture, including rape and sexual torture.
Coalition for the International Criminal Court
777 UN Plaza
New York, Ny 10017
Phone: (212) 687-2176
www.iccnow.org
Human Rights Watch
350 Fifth Avenue, 34th Floor
New York, NY 10118-3299
Phone: (212) 290-4700
www.hrw.org
International Criminal Court
Maanweg, 174
2516 AB The Hague
The Netherlands
Phone: 070 515 8108
www.icc-cpi.int
United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
Churchillplein 1, 2517 JW The Hague
P.O. Box 13888, 2501 EW
The Hague, Netherlands
www.un.org/icty/
United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
Arusha International Conference Centre
P.O. Box 6016
Arusha, Tanzania
www.ictr.org
Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice
Anna Paulownastraat 103
2518 BC The Hague
The Netherlands
Phone: 070 365 2042
www.iccwomen.org
Women for Women International
1850 "M" Street NW, Suite 1090
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: (202) 737-7705
www.womenforwomen.org
Women for Women International works to assist victims of rape and violence in Kosovo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Rwanda, and Nigeria.
