Name(s):
Crimes of war against women
Wartime rape
Rape by military police
Government use of rape as a weapon
Sexual violence against children by soldiers
Rape of civilians by soldiers
Claim
An argument can be made that States should not be held liable for sexual abuse and slavery that occurred at a time before they were bound by conventional international law. However, customary international law protecting women from sexual slavery during wartime predates the United Nations system. Rape committed by soldiers has been prohibited by law for centuries. Article 46 of the [Hague Convention IV] (1907) requires that "family honour and rights" be respected.
Counter-claim
War is full of humiliating, violent and life-threatening events that happen to you, the man next to you or to the enemy. The dehumanizing effects of soldiering in general and being a soldier in war-time in particular means that soldiers live in a state of perpetual terror. But they don't feel anything much of the time. When human beings undergo deep psychological traumas and are blocked from releasing them, they make desperate attempts to reconnect with their humanity. Raping women and witnessing their terrified screams is one way in which men get to hear the sound of their own buried terror. Any relief is only momentary. In the long run the effect is to compound the terror.