Ruhi Aati, LLB, Jindal Global Law School
Introduction
Armed conflict has been feared by civilians everywhere for its far-reaching detrimental effects on the lives of people. In the context of women, fear of conflict has always been laced with an additional dimension because conflict has historically always been accompanied by the reality of rape and sexual exploitation – of which women have always been the primary victim1. All forms of armed conflict have seen forms of sexual abuse be inflicted upon women, with perpetrators being men committing acts of rape regardless of their side or role in the conflict2. Clearly, situations of conflict create environments that place women in vulnerable positions. Wartime rape has been passed off as an unintended consequence of conflict – and not a form of torture or genocide against women3. Innumerable examples of wartime rape exist in the international landscape – with some of the most pressing cases being highlighted in the international humanitarian context being that of the mass rape and genocide of women in former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. This paper will examine the position held by women in international human rights law as the sex most vulnerable to rape crimes, and critically analyze international law provisions from a feminist lens, while looking to the role played by the Tribunals in the decisions of former Yugoslavia and Rwanda in establishing rape as a crime against humanity.
