Sexual and Gender Based Violence in Syria

Throughout history, women have continuously found themselves as the subjects of oppression. Although the treatment of women has drastically changed over time, women are still exposed to much of the violence that exists today. Per the National Organization for Women, “young women, low-income women and some minorities are disproportionately victims of domestic violence and rape” (National Organization for Women, 2016). Women-centered violence is highly prevalent and reoccurring all over the world, even in our local communities. Individuals may be hesitant to consider just how much violence against women affects their communities.

Another negative effect of gender inequality is the increased fear of violence for women. Women are often portrayed as weak and helpless beings that can easily be taken advantage of. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon states that, “Violence against women and girls continues unabated in every continent, country and culture. It takes a devastating toll on women’s lives, on their families and on society as a whole. Most societies prohibit such violence –yet the reality is that too often, it is covered up or tacitly condoned” (Unite to End Violence Againist Women, 2006). Violence against women in the form of rape, spousal abuse, child abuse or spousal killing has become routine behavior over the years, so it rarely even makes the news anymore. “Women aged 15-44 are more at risk from rape and domestic violence than from cancer, motor accidents, war and malaria, according to World Bank data”( Unite to End Violence Againist Women, 2006). Women are often blamed and questioned about their actions if they become the

The future of genocidal intervention must allow us to move beyond a definition affixed to body counts, and particularly when we don’t gender those victims. By gendering the way violence impacts both men and women, we can both detect genocidal acts earlier as well as paying attention to the act of rape as genocidal in and of itself. While those who committed these acts certainly are evil, to understand the gendered logic (if it can be called such) of violence is conducted provides us better perspective in identifying it within conflicts, and understand which populations are at risk and in what ways.

The video focuses on events in the Republic of the Congo, but it’s commonplace where there are chaos and lawlessness. Consider how people changed in the wake of hurricane Katrina, cultural norms eroded overnight and the criminal action began, so far there have been over 140 reported rapes and gang rapes. During the fight in Africa, these actives are normal. Without legal repercussion, conflict rape is considered “an unchangeable externality of war (Haddad, 2002).” As a weapon it’s has a psychological effect on the families and communities involved. It instills fear in both genders because of the fear of it being done to them and as important to their loved ones. The uncertainty of that’s happened to the people that go missing in the night is unimaginable. Another disturbing intent of people in power is to remove the bloodline of the opposed (aka ethnic cleansing), this is done through forced breeding, mutilation of females, eliminating future generations and ultimately driving the unwanted from the territory (Isgandarova, 2013). The third use of a weapon if creating fear to destabilize communities makes are taken and forced into combat roles while females are taken for the pleasure of their captors. This fear paralyzes people preventing them from taking up arms or collaborating to stop the offenses. With fewer adolescent and young adults, generations become weaker

Internationally, sexual assault is more likely the result of conflict with or within a society or nation. Emily Rauhala goes into much depth concerning males as victims of sexual assault primarily in the South African Congo and how this is not as spoken upon. She provides information about detention facilities and prisons that have reportedly used sexual assault as a torture treatment during these war times. “In South Africa’s overcrowded, under-funded prisons, rape and sexual violence are used to define and maintain a strict social hierarchy in which victims are humiliated, dominated and feminized,” (Johnson 2014). Rauhala provides an account of a male in the Congo who tells of his experience with sexual assault and how it has changed his life forever.

In “Rape as Weapon of War in the Eastern DRC? The Victim's’ Perspective” by Anna Maedl, It begins to describe the problems around the community and how some respond with rape to help it stop. Rape as a Weapon used against people? For me it doesn't matter if you deserve to suffer, rape isn’t something to be played with or become an answer to a problem. “Indiscriminate violence against civilians, including mass rape and sexual torture, are not an exception in so-called “new wars”18 or “complex political emergencies,”19 but are the modus operandi by which these armed conflicts are fought.” (Rape 131) Modus Operandi? Which means a new way of doing things, but why rape? During the wars they believed as something normal one could do to another country’s women, yet after the massive rapes happening many women were destroyed emotionally. Not only did they chances to marry pure has disappeared, but also they are unable to even look at their love one like they did normally. When a person rapes another person, I think of them as animal that shouldn’t be considered human. Why don’t they think, “what happens if someone was raping one of my family member? How would they feel? And what would I do?” they don’t think about the consequences of the victim and of the child they may posses in the near future. However, even though the research that was conducted knew there were massive of rapes, they were able to conclude a concise number because of the numerous women who didn’t want to be interviewed of the situation that happened to them. What makes me angered is most of the victims were unable to fight back for their freedom because about 90.9% of the attackers were carrying weapons like pistols, spears and Machetes/knifes (Rape 140). Though I was unable to get a clear picture on which side Anna was trying to argue with, I have a clear statement on how the victims felt and the massive rape that was happening during the wars like World War II.

Women between the ages of 15 to 44 are at a greater risk of rape than cancer, malaria and a motor accident (Wood, 2009). According to Amnesty International (2014), 40 women are raped everyday in South Kivu regarding the on-going armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Sexual violence during armed conflict has historically been known as one of the legitimate spoils of war (Brown, 2011). Spoils of war result from defeating a population and claiming benefits due to its instability. Thus violence towards civilian’s asserts dominance, however the implications involved must be rooted to deeper consequences to a nation. In this essay I will argue that rape is perpetrated against women

Challenge: Gender-based violence often connotes a culture of deep division between male and female. Handled poorly, the divisions and the hatred deepen, instead of providing chances to understand.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has continuously experienced increasingly brutal cases of violence against the female gender (Peterman, Palemo, & Bredenkamp, 2011). As Peterman et al. (2011) continue to state, this gender based violence against women in the Congo is mainly characterized by widespread sexual violence, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), gang rape, and the abduction of women for sexual slavery purposes among several others. As a matter of importance, sexual violence against women is reported to be more prevalent within families, the resulting consequence being the continuous destabilization of populations, aside from the destruction of both community and family bonds (Johnson, Scott, Rughita, Kisielewski, Asher, Ong, & Lwry, 2010). Recent reports from world bodies such as the United Nations indicate that a majority of the cases of sexual violence reported in the DRC are inexplicably linked to the ongoing armed and civil unrest in the Congo. The eastern parts of Congo that border Rwanda, i.e. North and South Kivu regions are reported as having been the most affected by the continued violence against women. This research paper seeks to argue that the violence against women in the Congo reflects a systematic, colonial-style gender based discrimination and violence against the female gender as it relates to space and power.

2016). The traditional views surrounding rape during war have long since lost their meaning, and the logical and accurate direction of the current discourse surrounding rape as a systematic weapon of war holds more sway among theorists today. It is rape’s ability to physically and mentally destroy an individual, without killing them that allows for it highly effective nature as a form of combat. When one single act has the ability to destroy gender roles, inflict serious damage upon the masculinity of a nation of men, and use reproduction to attempt to eradicate a particular ethnic group from existence, it is surely to be viewed as a worthwhile strategy to adapt during times of conflict, in order to win and dominant the opposing group in the most efficient, horrific and scarring means possible. Yugoslavia is not the only region of the world to experience the consequences of rape as a weapon of war, and with many incidents across history all displaying similar characteristics and ulterior motives of rape, it is impossible to deny its systematic nature in war. Rape during war is not just an attack on a woman in times of anarchy, it is a strategic approach to attacking all aspects of the nation and army that identifies with that woman; be it the religion, ethnicity, men, nation or culture, creating long lasting and severe consequences for all (Snyder, C.S.,

There have been a lot of recent tragedies in Africa and a lot of attentions have been giving to the female victim. In this article Lara Stemple want the same attention to be giving to the male victims as well. As stated the reports of male rape in Congo has been made clear that wartime sexual violence is not limited to women and girls. As of now, the United Nation has the situation at hand and they overlook sexual assault of men and boy. Lara Stemple wants us to see the reason while sexual violence against men occasionally make the news. Sexual violence is ‘any violence, whether physical and/or mental, carried out through sexual means or by targeting sexuality’ (Lewis, 2009). An example is the sexual abuse and humiliation that took place in Iraq at the Abu Ghraib prison stunned the world.

Despite developments in human rights discourse and international law, abuses endure and there remains a certain poverty of explanations (Alison, 2007). Moreover, the fields of conflict resolution and peace studies have also historically been silent on the question of sexual violence and mass rape in armed conflict (Leatherman, 2007). The pressing problem of rape in wartime has, at long last, evoked worldwide concern (United Nations Security Council 2007). Accounts of the cruelty and massive amount of sexual violence committed by both government forces and members of the rebel groups have certainly alerted both global policymakers and advocate groups to the scope and lasting terror of sexual violence in the context of armed conflict and peace-building (Baaz & Stern,

The impacts of conflict on women have been harsh, often going through trauma, being displaced and having difficulties forming a household in the areas of conflict. They have undergone several persecutions and there has been a rise in gender-based and sexual violence and thus, they have become primary targets among the contemporary armed conflicts. As a matter of fact, the majority of the world’s refugees and internally displaced persons mainly consist of women and children.

Armed battle has disastrous effects on all citizens, however women face major challenges. Afghanistan has a weak state system and armed opposition groups, as well as serious problems with human security, human rights, and women’s participation. In Afghanistan’s highly patriarchal society, women have been subjected to violence by husbands and other male family members. The male head of the household whether it be brother, husband, father, or other family member makes all major decisions regarding the woman’s life: whether she gets to go to school and who she marries. Furthermore, wars, and especially occupation by foreign powers, have been accompanied by crises of masculinity that have led to restrictions on women’s mobility and increase in violence against women. Women are

Every five minutes, four women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are raped. This means that 1,100 women are victims of sexual violence on a daily basis (Counting Sexual Violence in the Congo). Such exorbitant cases of rape have earned the DRC its title as “the rape capital of the world” (Citation -http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8650112.stm). Nevertheless, Congolese conventions regarding gender roles have facilitated massive infliction of sexual violence, especially on behalf of soldiers. This incorporation of rape into the sociocultural fabric of the DRC has, in turn, given way to a normalization of rape culture in the Congo, which has perpetuated and even enabled the sexual violence crisis. Moreover, the rape