three - Context

Summary

The period between 1990 and 2015 was a time of considerable development in global normative rejection of tactical rape and sexual violence in conflict. Many conflicts occurred, with significant humanitarian implications. Social constructions and gendered vulnerabilities contributed to the impact of tactical rape. But normative change can occur, and there are signs of this happening.

Changing nature of war

Herfried Munkler described the process by which war gradually became a state-controlled enterprise, for reasons related to economic costs and the complex weaponry being employed. As war became expensive and required increasingly complex management, states took control, wanting to bring about a rapid end to fighting because shorter conflicts incurred less cost. Munkler said, ‘war of this kind was a war of soldiers against soldiers and the civilian population was largely spared from violence and destruction.’ He described how as super-powers developed it became increasingly difficult for smaller groups to engage in traditional battles of armies against armies. Guerrilla warfare came to the fore. Guerrillas could take longer to achieve their goals and use methods not requiring complex technology and weaponry. Attacks on civilians increased as, ‘the country's civilian population … falls prey to those who, with the help of their armed henchmen, exercise control over them.’ While Munkler highlighted the increased role of children as soldiers, he notably failed to highlight the place of women as particular targets in civilian populations. Yet much of what he says can explain the particular use of rape as a tactic in new wars.

Civilian populations are largely comprised of women, and rape is a means of attacking women. A crucial factor in the emergence of new styles of warfare is ‘the fact that they have become cheap to wage.’

The use of rape and sexual violence as tactics requires no special equipment, no special training, no ongoing maintenance or supply of those capable of employing such tactics for an identified goal. If civilian targets take the place of military objectives, it becomes urgent to clarify rules of engagement regarding attacks on non-combatants, including women. Tolerance of rape as a weapon of war has been an ongoing factor in conflicts throughout history. Christoph Schiessl referred to a pro-Serb organisation that denied the reports of rape by saying they had investigated and found there were no reliable reports of ‘more than average war-time rape.’