The Cultural Value of Sexual Violence

Rape, the most commonly committed act of sexual violence, "strikes at the very core of human dignity and physical integrity." Apparently, no societal or political value is presently advanced by partial proscription of rape; neither is justification of legality any longer based on the chara...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the ASIL Annual Meeting Vol. 93; pp. 312 - 324
Main Author: Sellers, Patricia Viseur
Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
Language:English
Published: New York, USA Cambridge University Press 01.01.1999
The American Society of International Law
Subjects:
Community
Conflict
Crimes against humanity
Criminal law
Criminalization
Culture
Geneva Convention
Human dignity
Human rights
Humanitarian law
Humanitarianism
International community
International humanitarian law
International law
Justification
Law
Laws of war
Lectures
Legality
Morality
Rape
Sex crimes
Sexual violence
Violence
Violence against women
War
Wartime sexual violence
ISSN:0272-5037, 2169-1118
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Rape, the most commonly committed act of sexual violence, "strikes at the very core of human dignity and physical integrity." Apparently, no societal or political value is presently advanced by partial proscription of rape; neither is justification of legality any longer based on the characterization of the armed conflict or the status of the person. International law - humanitarian law, international criminal law and human rights law - appears to permit no exception or derogation for rape. Contrary to sexual violence's historical "legal" origins, it is the recognition of rape's illegality that best serves the interest of the international community when, in armed conflict, the individual is attacked as a member of the community or the community is attacked through its members.
Bibliography:SourceType-Conference Papers & Proceedings-1
content type line 22
ObjectType-Feature-1
ISSN:0272-5037
2169-1118
DOI:10.1017/S027250370006780X