The concept of "invasion" is intended to be broad enough to be gender-neutral and the definition is understood to include situations where the victim may be incapable of giving genuine consent if affected by natural, induced or age-related incapacity.
The invasion was committed by force, or by threat of force or coercion, such as that caused by fear of violence, duress, detention, psychological oppression or abuse of power, against such person or another person, or by taking advantage of a coercive environment, or the invasion was committed against a person incapable of giving genuine consent. The perpetrator invaded the body of a person by conduct resulting in penetration, however slight, of any part of the body of the victim or of the perpetrator with a sexual organ, or of the anal or genital opening of the victim with any object or any other part of the body. The Explanatory Note of the Rome Statute, which binds the International Criminal Court, defines rape as follows: The terms rape, sexual assault and sexual violence are frequently used interchangeably. There is no consensus definition of wartime sexual violence, as there is variance in what forms of violence are included in the definition and variance in which violence is considered conflict-related. 11 Forced prostitution and sexual slavery in warĭefinition of wartime sexual violence.10.1 Late twentieth and early twenty-first century.9.14.2 Cases of rape and sexual abuse in peace operations.9.14.1 Motivations for rape and sexual abuse by peacekeepers.9.14 Rape in contemporary peace operations by UN peacekeepers.8.3.3 Impact on post-conflict reconciliation.8.3.2 Impact on children who are born as a result of rape.
2.4.4 International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.2.4.3 International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.2 History of laws against sexual assault during war.1 Definition of wartime sexual violence.However, these legal instruments have so far only been used for international conflicts, thus putting the burden of proof in citing the international nature of conflict in order for prosecution to proceed. International legal instruments for prosecuting perpetrators for genocide were developed in the 1990s, with the Akayesu case of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda being widely considered as a precedent. Rape can also be recognized as genocide when committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a targeted group. Wartime sexual violence may occur in a variety of situations, including institutionalized sexual slavery, wartime sexual violence associated with specific battles or massacres, as well as individual or isolated acts of sexual violence.
ĭuring war and armed conflict, rape is frequently used as a means of psychological warfare in order to humiliate the enemy. A war crime, it is distinguished from sexual harassment, sexual assaults and rape committed amongst troops in military service. Wartime sexual violence may also include gang rape and rape with objects. Wartime sexual violence is rape or other forms of sexual violence committed by combatants during armed conflict, war, or military occupation often as spoils of war, but sometimes, particularly in ethnic conflict, the phenomenon has broader sociological motives. Monument to the Condottiero Giovanni dalle Bande Nere depicting a man kidnapping a woman ( Piazza San Lorenzo, Florence)