3 - The Terrorized Subject

Summary

The words ‘terror’ and ‘terrorized’ are not new to discussions of gender-based violence. Indeed, these words are often used to describe the lived experience of gender-based violence.¹ Likewise, the association between gender violence and other forms of extreme violence, such as torture, has already been established in international law.² On the one hand, the recognition of this association allows for greater awareness of the gravity of this particular form of violence. On the other hand, this association has encouraged an overall harshening of punishment and a criminal-law approach to violence. This has been particularly notable in the field of international crime, where there has been a significant increase in the volume of norms criminalizing gender-based violence – many of which have paid special attention to sexual offences, which are now even included in the Rome Statute’s Article 7 as one type of crimes against humanity.