| This research essay will employ historical documents, as well as qualitative methods, to examine and contribute to the existing literature and collective efforts of feminists, sociologists, historians and international organizations with respect to the historical context and consequences of rape warfare. This study will focus on the intended victimization and rape of women during World War II into the present day. Specifically, this study will examine the history of rape warfare by providing an analytic overview of the literature of rape warfare post World War II. Additionally, the study will examine the Balkan Conflict (1992-1995) and the violence against women. This study will attempt to prove that war perpetuates the exploitation of women and violates their human rights. Tragically, women's subordinate position in patriarchal societies has allowed rape, within the context of war, to become an acceptable, permissible practice.;In the specific case of the women of Bosnia, the use of rape warfare was conducted on an unprecedented scale and with the most horrifying of consequences. Using testimony from the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, reports from various human rights organizations, survivor interviews and United Nation reports, this study will attempt to prove that mass rapes of Bosnian women were a form of "ethnic cleansing," deliberately perpetrated upon the Bosnian Muslim women to force pregnancy and ethnically cleanse the area.;Finally, this study will examine the response from the international community and Non Governmental Organizations (NGO's). By examining recent decisions of the International Criminal Court, this study will examine the crime of rape under international humanitarian law and attempt to answer the question why, given the amount of concrete evidence substantiating the existence of rape warfare, have there been only 28 convictions by the International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and 11 by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) since 2011.1 This research essay will explore the current political and cultural climate and the obstacles facing the international community with respect to intervention and/or conviction.;1 Rape: Weapon of War and Genocide, 1st ed (St. Paul, MN: Paragon House, 2012), xxxviii---xi. |
