Sexual violence and armed conflict /

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Bibliographic Details
Author / Creator:Leatherman, Janie, 1959-
Imprint:Cambridge ; Malden, MA : Polity, 2011.
Description:xii, 244 p. ; 21 cm.
Language:English
Series:War and conflict in the modern world
War and conflict in the modern world.
Subject:
Format: Print Book
URL for this record:http://pi.lib.uchicago.edu/1001/cat/bib/8382581
Hidden Bibliographic Details
ISBN:9780745641874
0745641873
9780745641881 (pbk.)
0745641881 (pbk.)
Notes:Includes bibliographical references and index.
Summary:"Every year, hundreds of thousands of people become victims of sexual violence in conflict zones around the world, most of them women and girls; in the Democratic Republic of Congo alone, approximately 200,000 have faced sexual violence since 1998, and those attacks continue to devastate Eastern Congo in particular, leading to the systematic collapse of safe space. This book offers a comprehensive analysis of the causes and consequences of, as well as responses to, sexual violence in contemporary armed conflict. It explores the functions and effects of wartime sexual violence as part of a global political economy of violence. To understand the motivations of the men (and occasionally women) who perpetrate this violence, the book analyzes the role played by systemic and situational factors such as patriarchy and militarized masculinity in a tangled web of plunder and profit. Difficult questions of accountability are tackled; in particular, the case of child soldiers, who often suffer a double victimization when forced to commit sexual atrocities and other crimes. The book concludes by looking at strategies of prevention and protection as well as an ethics of caring to support the rehabilitation of survivors and their reintegration into family and community life. Sexual violence in war has long been a taboo subject but, as this book shows, new and courageous steps are at last being taken--at both local and international levels--to end what has been called the "greatest silence in history." "--P. [4] of cover.
Description
Summary:Every year, hundreds of thousands of women become victims of sexual violence in conflict zones around the world; in the Democratic Republic of Congo alone, approximately 1,100 rapes are reported each month.<br> <br> This book offers a comprehensive analysis of the causes, consequences and responses to sexual violence in contemporary armed conflict. It explores the function and effect of wartime sexual violence and examines the conditions that make women and girls most vulnerable to these acts both before, during and after conflict. To understand the motivations of the men (and occasionally women) who perpetrate this violence, the book analyzes the role played by systemic and situational factors such as patriarchy and militarized masculinity. Difficult questions of accountability are tackled; in particular, the case of child soldiers, who often suffer a double victimization when forced to commit sexual atrocities. The book concludes by looking at strategies of prevention and protection as well as new programs being set up on the ground to support the rehabilitation of survivors and their communities. Sexual violence in war has long been a taboo subject but, as this book shows, new and courageous steps are at last being taken Ð at both local and international level - to end what has been called the "greatest silence in history".
Physical Description:xii, 244 p. ; 21 cm.
Bibliography:Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN:9780745641874
0745641873
9780745641881
0745641881