Rape in war: the time for 'never again' is now
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Published on openDemocracy (http://www.opendemocracy.net)
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- From War to Peace [9]
- Theresa de Langis [10]
On October 17th thousands of Congolese women, led by Olive Lembe Kabila marched to end impunity for sexual violence against women. Rape survivors joined the march, many of them from their hospital beds, defying a culture that shames victims rather than perpetrators
Theresa de Langis is a writer and consultant working with women in conflict and post-conflict situations
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On October 17th thousands of Congolese women, led by Olive Lembe Kabila marched to end impunity for sexual violence against women. Rape survivors joined the march, many of them from their hospital beds, defying a culture that shames victims rather than perpetrators
Will the UN Security Council remember the women of the DRC when it meets to commemorate the anniversary of Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security this week?
A few weeks ago Congolese militia commander, Sadoke Kokunda Mayele, was arrested and charged [11] with leading a four-day rampage that left in its wake an estimated 500 victims of gang rape in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The arrest of Mayele is good news, but not cause for celebration. Arrests mean only so much in a context where sexual violence is committed with widespread impunity, where state penalties are weak and enforcement even weaker, and where the international community, including the UN, has by its own admission been ineffective [12] in its response. For the women of eastern
Rape as a weapon of war has become commonplace, and a well-known characteristic of the conflict in the DRC. The UN’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Margot Wallström, declared the DRC as the “rape capital of the world [13]” in April. In the eastern
The incident in eastern
As for the Government of DRC, some of its own security forces [22] are allegedly complicit in committing atrocities they are implicated [23] in this summer’s mass sexual violence. Despite a gruesome inventory of serious violations by state and non-state actors, the level of impunity thus far is striking” Very few cases of sexual violence ever reach the justice system, few of those that do result in decisions, and even fewer in convictions. In the rare cases of convictions, the defendants almost invariably escape [22] from prison. A mere 12 trials [24] have been held in response to the crimes committed between 1993-2003.
Since the rapes this summer, calls for an end to impunity for sexual violence is increasing in volume. In an emergency meeting of the Security Council on the rapes in eastern Congo on August 26, the Council demanded that action be taken to ensure such an event never happens again and called [25] on Kinshasa "to swiftly investigate these attacks and ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice". A few weeks later, Wallstrom reported [26] to the Security Council that “so far ‘zero tolerance’ has been underpinned by ‘zero consequences’”. The OHCHR stressed one of the aims [27] is to “encourage efforts to break the cycle of impunity and continuing gross violations” and has now formed a high-level panel in response to this summer’s mass rapes. The panel traveled to three provinces in DR Congo from September 30 to October 10 to find out from the victim [28]s about the "adequacy of remedies and reparations available to sexual violence survivors.”
Gender-sensitive reparation initiatives in response to sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict settings is the focus of the April 2010 report [29] by the UN’s Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Rashida Manjoo makes two central points about reparations programs for victims of sexual violence. The first is the need for approaches that provoke fundamental societal conversions, 'Since violence perpetrated against individual women generally feeds into patterns of pre-existing and often cross-cutting structural subordination and systematic marginalization, measures of redress need to link individual reparations and structural transformation' Manjoo highlights that restoring the victim to her status prior to the violation is impossible and effectual reparations will require measures that transform cultural understandings about the value of women in wider society. Any return to the status quo ante in fact perpetuates, rather than prevents, the future commission of crimes. Reparations must aspire “not only to restitution, but also to correction.”
Manjoo also argues that guarantees of non-repetition, as covered in the framework of the law of remedy, offer the greatest potential for transforming gender relations. As her report points out: 'In promising to ensure non-recurrence, such guarantees trigger a discussion about the underlying structural causes of the violence and their gendered manifestations and a discussion about the broader institutional or legal reforms that might be called for to ensure non-repetition. A gender-sensitive reparations programme should seize this opportunity to advance, as part of the venture of reconstructing a new and more inclusive democratic order, a society that overcomes the systemic subordination of women.
Such an approach inserts accountability for both past and future violations. It addresses the frequently increased levels of violence against women in families and communities after official peace or democracy has been declared. At the heart of Manjoo’s thesis—and the heart of the UN Security Council Resolutions on women, peace and security—is the centrality of women’s human rights to establishing long-term sustainable peace.
The importance of women’s participation in planning for and implementing remedies, cannot be overestimated. It not only ensures that our experiences and priorities are reflected in redress, but is in itself an important form of rehabilitation as objectified sexual victims gain agency and subject hood as fully recognized human beings and actors of social change. Travelling throughout the DRC, the OHCHR panel heard from victims their need [28] for public recognition, especially from the highest levels of government, for the harm suffered by victims. On October 17th thousands of Congolese women marched to end impunity [30] for sexual violence against women, led by Olive Lembe Kabila, wife of DRC President Joseph Kabila. Rape survivors joined the marched, many of them from their hospital beds, defying a culture that shames victims rather than perpetrators. Their demand [31]: 'Enough, enough, enough, enough.'
The perpetual repeat of mass sexual violence in conflict is a dire marker of how much more needs to be done to implement 1325. This week the UN Security Council will be asked to adopt a set of 26 indicators [32] on SCR 1325 implementation. At the core of the indicators is a 7-point action plan requiring 15% of UN funding for conflict and post-conflict programmes be devoted to women's issues and encouraging the use of temporary special measures to ensure women’s meaningful participation in peace processes. Both the indicators and Action Plan are sorely needed, because the time for “never again” is now.
Related stories:
War and sexual violence: an issue of security [33]
Resist-Reclaim-Restore: Militarism No More [34]
What kind of feminism does war provoke? [35]
Getting to peace: what kind of movement? [36]
Vital peace constituencies [37]
Is it time for a worldwide strategy for the building of peace? [38]
Within the hell of war lies a private hell [39]
1325 - 5 years on at the UN [40]
1325 and the violent world of small arms [41]
The meaning of peace in the 21st century [42]
Laureate Mairead Maguire: building 'deep democracy' [43]
Laureate Jody Williams: telling it like it is [44]
The politics of peace: SCR 1325 at 10 [45]
This article is published by Theresa de Langis, and openDemocracy.net under a Creative Commons licence [46]. You may republish it without needing further permission, with attribution for non-commercial purposes following these guidelines [47]. These rules apply to one-off or infrequent use. For all re-print, syndication and educational use please see read our republishing guidelines [48] or contact us [49]. Some articles on this site are published under different terms. No images on the site or in articles may be re-used without permission unless specifically licensed under Creative Commons.
Source URL: http://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/theresa-de-langis/rape-in-war-time-for-never-again-is-now
Created 10/25/2010 - 12:32
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[11] http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/06/congo-rape-arrest-mayele
[12] http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/decapua-drc-rapes-oxfam-8sept10-102448699.html
[13] http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8650112.stm
[14] http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/10/19/congo.rapes/
[15] http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Countries/AfricaRegion/Pages/RDCProjetMapping.aspx
[16] http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/ZR/FS-3_Sexual_Violence_FINAL.pdf
[17] http://www.peacewomen.org/countries_and_regions/africa/central-africa/democratic-republic-of-congo-drc;
[18] http://www.womensrightscoalition.org/site/reparation/index_en.php
[19] http://www.aids-freeworld.org/content/view/457/135/
[20] http://www.unifem.org/gender_issues/women_war_peace/
[21] http://www.opendemocracy.net/../../../../../../../../article/war_and_sexual_violence_an_issue_of_security
[22] http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/ZR/FS-7_Impunity_FINAL.pdf
[23] http://ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=52758
[24] http://www.justiceghana.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3992&Itemid=72
[25] http://www.undispatch.com/update-mass-rape-in-drc-topic-of-emergency-security-council-session;%20http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iuEefa3a9dKOTcdJeBxkxWqKVQuw
[26] http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=36452&Cr=democratic&Cr1=congo
[27] http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/ZR/Mapping_Press_Release_FINAL_EN.pdf
[28] http://www.un.org/apps//news/story.asp?NewsID=36424&Cr=congo&Cr1=sexual+violence
[29] http://www.stop-stoning.org/en/node/1052
[30] http://www.necn.com/10/17/10/Thousands-of-women-march-against-rape-in/landing_newengland.html?blockID=333120&feedID=4207
[31] http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/10/17/congo.rapes.march/?amp;hpt=C1
[32] http://www.peacewomen.org/security_council_monitor/indicators
[33] http://www.opendemocracy.net/article/war_and_sexual_violence_an_issue_of_security
[34] http://www.opendemocracy.net/article/email/resist-reclaim-restore-militarism-no-more
[35] http://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/cynthia-cockburn/what-kind-of-feminism-does-war-provoke
[36] http://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/cynthia-cockburn/getting-to-peace-what-kind-of-movement
[37] http://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/shelley-anderson/vital-peace-constituencies
[38] http://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/scilla-elworthy/is-it-time-for-worldwide-strategy-for-building-of-peace
[39] http://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/laura-carlsen/within-hell-of-war-lies-private-hell
[40] http://www.opendemocracy.net/blog/web_opendemocracy_net/1325_5_years_on_at_the_un
[41] http://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/jasmin-galace/1325-and-violent-world-of-small-arms
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[44] http://www.opendemocracy.net/audio/jane-gabriel/laureate-jody-williams-telling-it-like-it-is
[45] http://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/lyric-thompson/politics-of-peace-taking-stock-of-progress-at-10th-anniversary-of-1325
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