Hostname: page-component-6bb9c88b65-znhjv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-07-24T10:06:13.983Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Women, Peace, and Security and the DRC: Time to Rethink Wartime Sexual Violence as Gender-Based Violence?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 July 2016

Sahla Aroussi
Sahla Aroussi*
Affiliation:
Coventry University
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

During armed conflicts, women experience extensive gender harm of a physical, sexual, legal, economic, social, cultural, and political nature. Recently, however, we have witnessed unprecedented attention in international law and policy-making arenas to the specific issue of sexual violence as a strategy of warfare. This has been particularly obvious in the agenda on women, peace, and security. Since 2008, the United Nations agenda has increasingly and repeatedly focused on sexual violence in armed conflicts in several Security Council resolutions, calling on and pressuring member states and international agencies to address this issue using militaristic and legalistic strategies. In this article, looking particularly at the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), I argue that the prioritization of sexual harm over other forms of gender harm has had a detrimental impact on women living in aid-dependent societies, and the international obsession with sexual harm has delivered neither justice nor security for victims in the DRC. The article concludes that in order to effectively address sexual violence, we have to rethink sexual harm as gender harm and start listening and responding to women's actual needs and priorities on the ground.

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Politics & Gender , Volume 13 , Issue 3 , September 2017 , pp. 488 - 515
Copyright
Copyright © The Women and Politics Research Section of the American Political Science Association 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

REFERENCES

Al-Ali, Nadje. 2005. “Reconstructing Gender: Iraqi Women between Dictatorship, War, Sanctions and Occupation.” Third World Quarterly 26 (4/5): 739–58.Google Scholar
Aroussi, Sahla. 2011. “‘Women, Peace and Security’: Addressing Accountability for Wartime Sexual Violence.” International Feminist Journal of Politics 13 (4): 576–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aroussi, Sahla. 2015. Women, Peace, and Security: Repositioning Gender in Peace Agreements. Antwerp: Intersentia.Google Scholar
Autesserre, Séverine. 2010. The Trouble with the Congo: Local Violence and the Failure of International Peacebuilding. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Autesserre, Séverine. 2012. “Dangerous Tales: Dominant Narratives on the Congo and Their Unintended Consequences.” African Affairs 111 (443): 202–22.Google Scholar
Ba, Assane. 2011. “Working against All Odds to Improve Maternal Health in the DRC.” United Nations Population Fund, September 19. http://www.unfpa.org/news/working-against-all-odds-improve-maternal-health-drc (accessed June 26, 2016).Google Scholar
Ba, Oumar, O'Regan, Christopher, Nachega, Jean, Cooper, Curtis, Anema, Aranka, Rachlis, Beth, and Mills, Edward J.. 2008. “HIV/ AIDS in African Militaries: An Ecological Analysis.” Medicine, Conflict and Survival 24 (2): 88–100.Google Scholar
Baaz, Maria Eriksson, and Stern, Maria. 2013. Sexual Violence as a Weapon of War? Perceptions, Prescriptions, Problems in the Congo and Beyond. New York: Zed Books.Google Scholar
Bartels, Susan, Kelly, Jocelyn, Scott, Jennifer, Leaning, Jennifer, Mukwege, Denis, Joyce, Nina, and VanRooyen, Michael. 2013. “Militarized Sexual Violence in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo.” Journal of Interpersonal Violence 28 (2): 340–58.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
BBC News. 2010. “UN Official Calls DR Congo ‘Rape Capital of the World.’” April 28. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8650112.stm (accessed June 26, 2016).Google Scholar
Cockburn, Cynthia. 2004. “The Continuum of Violence.” In Sites of Violence: Gender and Conflict Zones, eds. Giles, Wenona and Hyndman, Jennifer. Berkeley: University of California Press, 24–44.Google Scholar
Cohen, Dara Kay, and Nordås, Ragnhild. 2014. “Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict: Introducing the SVAC Dataset, 1989–2009.” Journal of Peace Research 51 (3): 418–28.Google Scholar
DeLargy, Pamela. 2013. “Sexual Violence and Women's Health in War.” In Women and Wars: Contested Histories, Uncertain Futures, ed. Cohn, Carol. Cambridge: Polity Press, 54–79.Google Scholar
Enloe, Cynthia. 2010. Nimo's War, Emma's War: Making Feminist Sense of the Iraq War. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Fraser, Nancy. 2010. Scales of Justice: Reimagining Political Space in a Globalizing World. New York: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Giles, Wenona. 2013. “Women Forced to Flee.” In Women and Wars: Contested Histories, Uncertain Futures, ed. Cohn, Carol. Cambridge: Polity Press, 80–101.Google Scholar
Gready, Paul. 2010. The Era of Transitional Justice: The Aftermath of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa and Beyond. London: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grewal, Kiran. 2010. “Rape in Conflict, Rape in Peace: Questioning the Revolutionary Potential of International Criminal Justice for Women's Human Rights.” Australian Feminist Law Journal 33 (1): 57–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Halley, Janet. 2008. “Rape at Rome: Feminist Interventions in the Criminalization of Sex Related Violence in Positive International Criminal Law.” Michigan Journal of International Law 30 (1): 1–123.Google Scholar
Jeffrey, Alex, and Jakala, Michaelina. 2015 “Using Courts to build States: The Competing Spaces of Citizenship in Transitional Justice Programmes.” Political Geography 47: 43–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kelly, Jocelyn, Kabanga, Justin, Cragin, Will, Alcayna-Stevens, Lys, Haider, Sadia, and VanRooyen, Michael J.. 2012. “‘If Your Husband Doesn't Humiliate You, Other People Won't’: Gendered Attitudes towards Sexual Violence in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.” Global Public Health 7 (3): 285–98.Google Scholar
Kidman, Rachel, Palermo, Tia, and Bertrand, Jane. 2015. “Intimate Partner Violence, Modern Contraceptive Use and Conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.” Social Science & Medicine 133: 2–10.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lemarchand, René. 2010. “Reflections on the Crisis in Eastern Congo.” Brown Journal of World Affairs 16 (1): 119–32.Google Scholar
McEvoy, Kieran, and McGregor, Lorna. 2008. “Transitional Justice from Below: An Agenda for Research, Policy and Praxis.” In Transitional Justice from Below: Grassroots Activism and the Struggle for Change, eds. McEvoy, Kieran and McGregor, Lorna. Oxford: Hart, 1–13.Google Scholar
Meger, Sara. 2010. “Rape of the Congo: Understanding Sexual Violence in the Conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.” Journal of Contemporary African Studies 28 (2): 119–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mertus, Julie. 2003. “Improving the Status of Women in the Wake of War: Overcoming Structural Obstacles.” Columbia Journal of Transnational Law 41 (3): 541–55.Google Scholar
Mouthaan, Solange. 2011. “The Prosecution of Gender Based Crimes at the ICC: Challenges and Opportunities.” International Criminal Law Review 11 (4): 775–802.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ní Aoláin, Fionnuala. 2011. “Women, Vulnerability and Humanitarian Emergencies.” Michigan Journal of Gender and Law 18 (1): 1–22.Google Scholar
Ní Aoláin, Fionnuala. 2012. “Advancing Feminist Positioning in the Field of Transitional Justice.” International Journal of Transitional Justice 6 (2): 205–28.Google Scholar
Ní Aoláin, Fionnuala, Haynes, Dina Francesca, and Cahn, Naomi. 2011. On the Frontlines: Gender, War, and the Post-Conflict Process. New York: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ní Aoláin, Fionnuala, Haynes, Dina Francesca, and Cahn, Naomi. 2012. “Women in the Post Conflict Process: Reviewing the Impact of Recent UN Actions in Achieving Gender Centrality.” Santa Clara Law Review 11: 189–217.Google Scholar
Nkansah, Lydia A. 2014. “Justice in the Special Court for Sierra Leone versus Local Perception of Justice: A Contradiction or Harmonious.” African Journal of International and Contemporary Law 22 (1): 103–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Notar, Susan A. 2006. “Peacekeepers as Perpetrators: Sexual Exploitation and Abuse of Women and Children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.” Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law 14 (2): 413–29.Google Scholar
Otto, Dianne. 2009. “The Exile of Inclusion: Reflections on Gender Issues in International Law over the Last Decade.” Melbourne Journal of International Law 10 (1): 11–26.Google Scholar
Pankhurst, Donna. 2007. “Post-War Backlash Violence against Women: What Can Masculinity Explain?” In Gendered Peace: Women's Struggles for Post-War Justice and Reconciliation, ed. Pankhurst, Donna. New York: United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, 293–320.Google Scholar
Peterman, Amber, Palermo, Tia, and Bredenkamp, Caryn. 2011. “Estimates and Determinants of Sexual Violence against Women in the Democratic Republic of Congo.” American Journal of Public Health 101 (1): 1060–67.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Spivak, Gayatri C. 1988. “Can the Subaltern Speak?” In Marxism and the Interpretation of Culture, eds. Nelson, Cary and Grossberg, Larry. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 271–313.Google Scholar
Spivak, Gayatri C. 1994. “Can the Subaltern Speak?” In Colonial Discourse and Post-Colonial Theory: A Reader, eds. Williams, Patrick and Chrisman, Laura. New York: Wheatsheaf, 66–111.Google Scholar
Stearns, Jason. 2012. From CNDP to M23: The Evolution of an Armed Movement in Eastern Congo. London: Rift Valley Institute.Google Scholar
Supervie, Virginie, Halima, Yasmin, and Blower, Sally. 2010. “Assessing the Impact of Mass Rape on the Incidence of HIV in Conflict-Affected Countries.” AIDS 24 (18): 2841–47.Google Scholar
Titeca, Kristof, and Kimanuka, Célestin. 2012. Walking in the Dark: Informal Cross-Border Trade in the Great Lakes Region. London: International Alert.Google Scholar
Tlapek, Sarah M. 2015. “Women's Status and Intimate Partner Violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo.” Journal of Interpersonal Violence 30 (14): 2526–40.Google Scholar
Transparency International. 2014. “Corruption by Country.” https://www.transparency.org/country/#COD (accessed June 26, 2016).Google Scholar
True, Jacquie. 2012. The Political Economy of Violence against Women. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). 2014. “Human Development Report.” http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/hdr14-report-en-1.pdf (accessed June 26, 2016).Google Scholar
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). 2014. “Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Syrian Refugees in Jordan.” https://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/download.php?id=5165 (accessed June 26, 2016).Google Scholar
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). 2015. “Country Operations Profile the Democratic Republic of the Congo.” http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49e45c366.html (accessed June 26, 2016).Google Scholar
United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). 2014. “Progress and Obstacles in the Fight against Impunity for Sexual Violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.” http://www.refworld.org/docid/534b931f4.html (accessed June 26, 2016).Google Scholar
United Nations Secretary General. 2014. “Report on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence.” http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/2014/181 (accessed June 26, 2016).Google Scholar
United Nations Secretary General. 2015. “Report on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence.” http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/2015/203 (accessed June 26, 2016).Google Scholar
Vandeginste, Stef, and Sriram, Chandra Lekha. 2011. “Power-Sharing and Transitional Justice: A Clash of Paradigms?” Global Governance 17 (4): 489–505.Google Scholar
Weinstein, Henry M. 2014. “Victims, Transitional Justice and Social Reconstruction Who Is Setting the Agenda?” In Justice for Victims: Perspectives on Rights, Transition and Reconciliation, eds. Vanfraechem, Inge, Pemberton, Antony, and Ndahinda, Felix Mukwiza. New York: Routledge, 161–95.Google Scholar
World Health Organization (WHO). 2012. “Mental Health and Psychosocial Support for Conflict-Related Sexual Violence: Principles and Interventions.” https://extranet.who.int/iris/restricted/bitstream/10665/75179/1/WHO_RHR_HRP_12.18_eng.pdf (accessed June 26, 2016).Google Scholar
World Health Organization (WHO). 2014. “Trends in Maternal Mortality: 1990 to 2013 Estimates by WHO.” http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/112682/2/9789241507226_eng.pdf (accessed June 26, 2016).Google Scholar
World Health Organization (WHO). 2015. “Statistical Profile: Democratic Republic of the Congo.” http://www.who.int/gho/countries/cod.pdf?ua=1 (accessed June 26, 2016).Google Scholar
Zongwe, Dunia P. 2013. “Taking Leaves Out of the International Criminal Court Statute: The Direct Application of International Criminal Law by Military Courts in the Democratic Republic of Congo.” Israel Law Review 46 (2): 249–69.Google Scholar