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10 - Blurring the Lines

How Are Female Child Soldiers Protected by the Laws of War?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 January 2024

By
Rosemary Grey
Edited by
Matt Killingsworth  and
Tim McCormack
Matt Killingsworth
Affiliation:
University of Tasmania
Tim McCormack
Affiliation:
University of Tasmania
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Summary

This chapter explores the protections afforded under the laws of war to young women and girls who, over the course of a single conflict, may occupy the roles of a child, a civilian, a combatant, a killer, a victim of sexual violence, and/or a mother. But rather than exploring this question into relation to women and girls as a homogenous group, it focuses on one young woman in one conflict, the so-called Second Congo War. Drawing on testimony provided by this witness during the Ntaganda case at the International Criminal Court (ICC), the chapter presents a critical view on the role of law in war. It observes that even with advances in legal protections for women and girls, as demonstrated by this important ICC case, in practical terms these actors often have no one to protect them but themselves.

Keywords

International humanitarian lawwarwomengirlschild soldiers
Type
Chapter
Information
Civility, Barbarism and the Evolution of International Humanitarian Law
Who do the Laws of War Protect?
 , pp. 200 - 217
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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