Conflict period sexual violence against women: Promise of the vulnerability theory

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-85
Author(s):  
Judith A Oloo
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Gender Based Violence ◽  
Conflict Situations ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Vulnerability Theory ◽  
Gender Based

Compared to most countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Kenya has, for a long time, enjoyed relative peace. However, this perceived peace has been marked with several incidents of internal clashes exposing women to large-scale gender-based sexual violence. While sexual violence is generally common in peacetime, it is exacerbated in conflict situations such as the post-election violence of 2007–2008 which saw mass incidents of rape and unprecedented killings in Kenya. This happened despite a robust legal framework prohibiting sexual violence. This article shows that the state’s to take cognisance of certain issues uniquely affecting women in Kenya in various aspects and contexts accumulate to disadvantage women, thereby making them more vulnerable. Second, the state’s failure to respond adequately to the unique plight of women during peacetime further exacerbates their suffering during armed conflicts. Thus, in a bid to find a better legal framework to protect women during conflict in Kenya, this article analyses the vulnerability theory of human rights which acknowledges that humans are generally and naturally vulnerable to certain elements. It concludes by stating that only when the vulnerability of women is understood and appreciated, can the law be effectively used to protect women against sexual and gender-based violence in conflict situations, among other hardships that women face, just by virtue of being women. It proposes among others a multidimensional approach including law reform, strict implementation of the existing law, economic inclusion of women and more investment in women as a remedy.

scholarly journals Hybrid Peacebuilding Approaches in Africa: Harnessing Complementary Parallels

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
MaryAnne Iwara
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Gender Based Violence ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
International Peacebuilding ◽  
Management Approaches ◽  
Gender Based ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Customary Practices

Many of the most pressing conflicts across sub-Saharan Africa today—including violent extremism, sexual and gender-based violence, pastoralist/farmer conflicts, and criminal banditry—are shaped by local, community-level drivers. Despite these local drivers, however, international peacebuilding approaches often ignore or neglect bottom-up, grassroots strategies for addressing them. Often, international efforts to contribute to the prevention and management of local conflicts depend heavily on large-scale, expensive, and external interventions like peacekeepers, while under-investing in or by-passing traditional/customary mechanisms and resources that uphold locally defined values of peace, tolerance, solidarity, and respect. Recognizing that these traditional and customary practices themselves sometimes have their own legacies of violence and inequality, this policy note emphasizes the possibility of combining aspects of traditional peacebuilding mechanisms with international conflict management approaches to harness the benefits of both.

scholarly journals Gender Based Violence against Women in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Cross-Sectional Studies

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 903 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muluken Dessalegn Muluneh ◽  
Virginia Stulz ◽  
Lyn Francis ◽  
Kingsley Agho
Keyword(s):  
Partner Violence ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Random Effect ◽  
Regional Analysis ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Gender Based Violence ◽  
Pooled Prevalence ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Gender Based

This study aimed to systematically review studies that examined the prevalence of gender based violence (GBV) that included intimate partner violence (IPV) and non-IPV among women in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This evidence is an important aspect to work towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) target of eliminating all forms of violence in SSA. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines were followed. Ovid Medline, CINAHL, Cochrane Central, Embase, Scopus and Web of Science were used to source articles with stringent eligibility criteria. Studies on GBV in SSA countries that were published in English from 2008 to 2019 were included. A random effect meta-analysis was used. Fifty-eight studies met the inclusion criteria. The pooled prevalence of IPV among women was 44%, the past year-pooled prevalence of IPV was 35.5% and non-IPV pooled prevalence was 14%. The highest prevalence rates of IPV that were reported included emotional (29.40%), physical (25.87%) and sexual (18.75%) violence. The sub-regional analysis found that women residing in Western (30%) and Eastern (25%) African regions experienced higher levels of emotional violence. Integrated mitigation measures to reduce GBV in SSA should focus mainly on IPV in order to achieve the SDG’s that will lead to sustainable changes in women’s health.

scholarly journals Predictors and facilitators of gender-based violence in sub-Saharan Africa: a rapid review

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ifeyinwa C Akamike ◽  
Chigozie J Uneke ◽  
Henry C Uro-Chukwu ◽  
Ijeoma N Okedo-Alex ◽  
Onyedikachi E Chukwu
Keyword(s):  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Rapid Review ◽  
Gender Based Violence ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Gender Based

Conflict-Related Sexual Violence in Kosovo and Lessons to be Learned from the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Remzije Istrefi ◽  
Arben Hajrullahu
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Justice System ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
International Criminal Tribunal ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Former Yugoslavia ◽  
Gender Based Violence ◽  
Roles And Responsibilities ◽  
System A ◽  
Gender Based

Abstract This article examines challenges in seeking justice for Conflict-Related Sexual Violence (crsv) survivors in Kosovo. It analyses the roles and responsibilities of international missions and how deficiencies impact the prosecution and adjudication of crsv by Kosovo’s justice system. A key question is why two decades after the 1998–1999 war in Kosovo survivors of crsv cannot find justice? The end of the international mandates, the large number of war crime cases transferred, unfinished files, and the necessity for specific expertise in handling the gender-based violence are some of the existing challenges which undermine the prosecution and adjudication of crsv in Kosovo. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (icty) established accountability for sexual violence in armed conflicts. This article seeks to scaffold the icty experience by developing an accurate and comprehensive understanding of the nature of crsv and by examining its impact on survivors and victims’ alike. This paper then explores how a contexualist interpretation of international and domestic criminal law provisions can prioritise the prosecution of crsv amid other pressing needs in Kosovo.

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

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (03) ◽  
pp. 488-515 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sahla Aroussi
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Violence ◽  
International Law ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Gender Based Violence ◽  
International Agencies ◽  
Law And Policy ◽  
Peace And Security ◽  
Republic Of The Congo ◽  
Gender Based ◽  
Detrimental Impact

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.

scholarly journals Magnitude of Gender-Based Violence and Its Associated Factors among Female Night Students in Bahir Dar City, Amhara Region, Ethiopia

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Habtamu Gebrehana Belay ◽  
Tewachew Muche Liyeh ◽  
Habtamu Abie Tassew ◽  
Abeba Belay Ayalew ◽  
Yitayal Ayalew Goshu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Young People ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Physical Violence ◽  
Female Students ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Lifetime Prevalence ◽  
Bahir Dar ◽  
Gender Based Violence ◽  
Gender Based

Background. Gender-based violence (GBV) is a major public health issue that affects the health and well-being of millions of young people worldwide each year. Gender-based violence was prevalent throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. However, research in Africa is extremely diverse. Objective. The purpose of this study is to determine the extent and risk factors of gender-based violence among night female students in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. Methods. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 788 elementary and high school night female students in Bahir Dar from October 15 to November 15, 2019. Data was gathered using self-administered questionnaires. A binary and multiple logistic regression model was used to identify factors associated with gender-based and sexual violence. An adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with a 95 percent confidence interval (CI) was calculated to determine the level of significance. Results. The overall lifetime prevalence of gender-based violence (sexual, physical, and emotional violence) was 71.1% with a 95% CI of 67.8%-74.1%. The lifetime prevalence of sexual violence, physical violence, and emotional violence was 49.1%, 57.5%, and 41.6%, respectively. Rural childhood residence (AOR: 3.37, 95% CI: (2.17-5.54)), low school performance (AOR: 3.44, 95% CI: (2.13-5.56)), lack of sexual and reproductive health conversation experience (AOR: 3.68, 95% CI: (2.07-6.54)), poor family control (AOR: 5.62, 95% CI: (3.25-9.71)), and being sexually active (AOR: 3.79, 95% CI: (2.35-6.12)) increased significantly the risk of gender-based violence. The risk factors for sexual violence were young people living with both parents (AOR: 0.28, 95% CI: (0.19-0.41)), peer pressure (AOR: 5.73, 95% CI: (4.11-7.98)), and family support (AOR: 0.31, 95% CI: (0.22-0.43)). Conclusion. In the study area, the lifetime prevalence of sexual violence, physical violence, and emotional violence was high. As a result, it is recommended that policymakers, district officials, schools, and other stakeholders pay attention to and act on gender-based values.

scholarly journals Predictors and facilitators of gender-based violence in sub-Saharan Africa: a rapid review

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ifeyinwa C Akamike ◽  
Chigozie J Uneke ◽  
Henry C Uro-Chukwu ◽  
Ijeoma N Okedo-Alex ◽  
Onyedikachi E Chukwu
Keyword(s):  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Rapid Review ◽  
Gender Based Violence ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Gender Based
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