The Grip of Sexual Violence in Conflict: Feminist Interventions in International Law

299 Pages·2020·4.563 MB·English

by  Karen Engle

THE GRIP OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN CONFLICT
Stanford Studies in Human Rights
The Grip of Sexual
Violence in Conflict
Feminist Interventions in International Law
Karen Engle
Stanford UniverSity PreSS
Stanford, California
Stanford University Press
Stanford, California
©2020 by the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or
by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and
recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system without the
prior written permission of Stanford University Press.
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free, archival-quality paper
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available upon request.
ISBN 978-1-5036-0794-1 (cloth)
ISBN 978-1-5036-1124-5 (paperback)
ISBN 978-1-5036-1125-2 (electronic)
Cover design: Rob Ehle
Cover art: Vanja Hamzić, The Aftermath, acrylic on canvas, 2010
(private collection).
Typeset by Kevin Barrett Kane in 10/14 Minion Pro
To Sissy Farenthold
This page intentionally left blank
Table of Contents
Foreword xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction 1
I. The Common Sense: An Illustration 3
II. Unpacking the Common-Sense Narrative 7
a. The “Worst Crimes” 7
b. Perpetrated by Male Monsters against
“Innocent” (Female) Victims 10
c. Criminal Law Will End Sexual Violence in Conflict 12
d. Sexual Violence Prevents Peace 15
III. Countering the Common Sense: A Preview 15
1. Sexual Violence in Conflict and Women’s Human Rights:
A Genealogy 18
I. Mainstream Responses to Wartime Rape
in the Former Yugoslavia 20
II. Early Feminist Engagement with Human Rights 21
a. Liberal Inclusion Approaches 23
b. Structural-Bias Critiques 23
c. Third World Feminist Critiques 26
viii Contents
III. “Women’s Rights Are Human Rights” at Vienna 28
a. Culturally Sensitive Universalism 32
b. Violence against Women 34
c. Sexual Violence in Conflict 37
IV. The Turn to Criminal Law 44
V. Unintended Consequences: A Prelude 48
2. Calling in the Troops 50
I. Military Humanitarian Intervention
after the End of the Cold War 51
II. Feminist Debates over the Meaning of Rape
in the Yugoslavian Conflict 55
a. Genocidal Rape versus Rape on All Sides 56
b. Genocidal Rape and Ethnic Essentialism 62
c. Shared Assumption: The Force of Shame 67
III. The Military Stakes of Finding Rape: The Case of Libya 70
IV. The Continuation of Crisis Governance 77
3. Calling in the Judges: The Former Yugoslavia 80
I. Feminist Engagement with the ICTY Statute and Rules 83
II. The Mediation of Feminist Disagreements 86
III. Solidifying the Common Sense: Jurisprudence
on Rape and Sexual Violence 90
a. The Worst Harm 90
b. Sexual Agency and Ethnic Difference 94
IV. Adding to the Common Sense: Male Victims 98
4. Calling in the Judges: Rwanda 101
I. The Doctrinal Function of Shame 104
a. The ICTR Charges against Akayesu 105
b. The ICTR’s Reasoning in Akayesu 107
Contents ix
c. Feminist Reasoning and Akayesu 110
d. The Legacy of Akayesu in Subsequent Jurisprudence 112
II. Shame as Prosecutorial Alibi 116
III. The Redistribution of Shame 120
5. Calling in the Security Council for Women,
Peace, and Security 122
I. Overview: Human Security, the WPS Agenda, and Beyond 125
II. Naming the Victims and Types of Violence 132
a. Victims: Gender Specificity versus Gender Neutrality 132
b. From “Gender-Based Violence” to
“Conflict-Related Sexual Violence” 134
III. The Shame of Sexual Violence in Conflict 136
IV. The Carceral Turn: Calling in the Judges 140
V. Counterterrorism: Calling in the Troops 147
Epilogue: Beyond Social Death 151
I. Women at War 155
II. Women and Sex at War 160
III. The Force of Shame Revisited 162
IV. The Context of War Foregrounded 168
V. The Redistribution of Shame Reconsidered 170
VI. Conclusion 171
Notes 173
Bibliography 233
Index 255