Sexual violence as weapon in wars: Punjabi varsity study

Mohit Khanna

Patiala, January 22

According to a study carried out by Punjabi University with a reference to international law, sexual violence is used as a weapon during armed struggles to instil fear among the general population. The research, led by Ritu from the Law Department and supervised by former Vice-Chancellor of Sri Guru Granth Sahib World University Dr Sukhdarshan Singh Khehra, delved into the trends, conclusions, and potential preventive measures regarding the use of sexual violence in armed wars.

Ritu said that over 2 billion people are currently living in conflict-affected areas, and over 84 million people have been displaced due such conflicts. “In the study, we have covered 27 conflicts that may be categorised into worsening, unchanging and improving. The wars in Afghanistan, Lebanon and Yemen; the Rohingya displacement; and conflicts in Ethiopia and Ukraine may be included in the worsening or unchanging categories, but none of them could be described as improving,” she stated. The war in former Yugoslavia, the conflict in Rwanda, and the civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo may be considered as horrendous examples of armed conflicts where rape is used as a weapon of war.

Ritu added that over the wars that humanity has witnessed so far, this form of violence has been used consistently to humiliate and instil fear in the population, impacting their emotions, gender dynamics, and power structures. This form of violence encompasses genocide, oppression, and violations of human rights. Sexual violence often serves as a tool for incitement related to terrorism and organised violent crime.