2 - Exploring the Gender, Ethnicity, and Trauma Characteristics of the Witness Sample

Summary

INTRODUCTION

As discussed in Chapter 1, the principal axes through which we seek to understand the opinions and experiences of the witnesses are gender, ethnicity, and the type as well as range of trauma experienced during the Balkan wars. These three characteristics are key issues in the ICTY jurisprudence; they have helped define the nature of the conflicts and the crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia; and they are an integral part of the witnesses’ identities and the basis for their appearances on the witness stand. In this chapter, we take the reader through an exploration of how these characteristics help describe who the witnesses are, and we also analyze the extent to which there is overlap and other relationships among the three dimensions. For example, we find that wartime trauma is not evenly distributed across our witness sample, but varies in part based on witness ethnic identity and gender.

To better acquaint the reader with the witness sample we begin by providing a brief overview of witness characteristics along these three dimensions. Second, we explore in-depth how the nature and scope of trauma experienced by witnesses vary by gender and ethnicity. We conclude by assessing the utility of the three witness dimensions and how they can help us understand witness recollections, perceptions, and opinions.

GENDER, ETHNICITY, AND WARTIME EXPERIENCE: AN OVERVIEW

We begin by reviewing the key sample parameters of our witness database. Of the 300 ICTY fact witnesses in the sample, 253 are male witnesses (84.33%), while 47 are female witnesses (15.67%). Women were distinctly less likely to be called to testify by the ICTY, and our sample reflects this. Women comprise approximately 13% of all ICTY witnesses – a strikingly small sample of the witnesses who testify – and we note our sample size of 15.6% closely approximates their actual proportion. We sought to oversample women, given their low numbers and also because ICTY personnel indicated that women might be more reluctant and thus less likely to agree to be surveyed.