Sexual Violence Against Women in Africa

Sexual violence against women is not a new phenomenon occurring in today’s society. Women have been victims of sexual violence for decades, and these acts are a result of gender roles, cultural norms, or armed conflicts. Sexual violations continue to plague women who live in Africa and in countries around the globe, and little progress has been made by human rights organizations to defend the rights of women. Although human rights laws and humanitarian organizations were created to protect the rights of women, sexual violence against women continues to be an epidemic in Africa and in countries throughout the world.

Sexual violence encompasses brutal acts of violence against a woman’s body. According to Arieff (2010), sexual violence includes “acts of rape, sexual assault, mutilation, forced prostitution, and sexual slavery” (p. 2). In Africa, sexual violence continues to be an epidemic, as data has revealed that this violation against women is highly prevalent. Research conducted by UN Women (2013) found that since January of 2013, 705 cases of sexual violence have been reported by women in Africa. However, 35% of women throughout the world have been victims of sexual violence in 2013 alone (UN Women, 2013). Although most of these violations occur in Africa in the countries of the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa, globally, sexual violence against women continues to run rampant in Asia, India, and the United States.

Today, most acts of sexual violence are occurring as a tactical weapon in armed conflicts. Gerntholtz (2013) explained that “Human Rights Watch first documented sexual violence in conflict in 1993 when we published a report about how Indian security forces in Kashmir used rape to brutalize women and punish their communities, accused of sympathizing with separatist militants.” Since then, rape in conflict has been a common occurrence in wars throughout the world, especially in Africa. Arieff (2010) found that “between July 30 and August 2, 2010, an estimated 242 women were raped in a rebel attack on a group of villages near the mining town of Walikale, which is located in Africa” (p. 1). These acts of sexual violence are committed by members of the government, military units, or police officers, and they are carried out to either break apart a community or they are used as a strategic tool to scare the enemy or a nation (Arieff, 2010). Regardless of the reasons given for these brutal acts on women, sexual violence is a human rights violation that requires immediate attention.

Human rights are universal principles that apply to every individual in society. According to Gordon (2012), “human rights are primarily concerned with protecting and securing the minimal levels of decent and respectful treatment that enable human beings to enjoy a good life” (p. 284). Human rights include the right to life, security, and freedom from slavery and cruel and inhumane treatment. Although human rights have been acknowledged for centuries, they were adopted by the United Nations in 1948 after the end of World War II under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Gordon, 2012). At the time, the UN Commission decided the doctrine should have three parts, which included “a declaration, a convention including legal obligations, and measures of implementation” (Moeckli et al., 2010, p. 35). As a result, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has 30 articles that state which human rights need to be upheld on a local, national, and international level.

Sexual violence is a violation of a woman’s human rights since rape, slavery, and torture take away the life, security, and freedom of the victims of these crimes. According to UN Women (2013), the impact of sexual violence “ranges from immediate to long-term multiple physical, sexual, and mental consequences for women and girls, including death.” Furthermore, when sexual violence is implemented as a tool in war, the act can negatively affect entire societies. Pillay (2012) explained that human rights violations, including sexual violence, “destabilizes states and whole regions, threatening international peace and security” (p. 9). As a result, states who allow women to be sexually violated will be in violation of the International Human Rights Law.

The International Human Rights Law is a law composed of treaties and agreements between states to respect and protect human rights. Human rights are now enforced through pacts and treaties between governments and states that adhere to international laws, and states are obligated to provide their people with the necessary resources to have their human rights upheld (Moeckli et al., 2012). According to Moeckli, Shah, Sivakumaran, and Harris (2010), when a state does not uphold its obligation to protect its people from human rights violations under the International Human Rights Law, humanitarian intervention will take place by the international community. The obligations of the state may not be upheld due to the fact that human rights violations are either taking place in private or through acts of armed conflict.

The International Humanitarian Law, or the Law of Armed Conflict, is a set of rules to regulate the effects of armed conflicts. Solis (2010) explained that the International Humanitarian Law was established to protect civilians and people who are not participating in acts of war and conflict. The International Humanitarian Law controls what measures can be taken during and after conflict (Solis, 2010). Although the International Humanitarian Law is governed by international laws, the law was created to protect the human rights of civilians, prisoners of war, and those involved in combat.

The International Human Rights Law and the International Humanitarian Law correlate to the sexual violations that women in Africa are enduring since both laws protect the human rights of people. However, both laws contain flaws that are enabling women to continue to be sexually violated in Africa and in countries around the globe. First, Moeckli, Shah, Sivakumaran, and Harris (2010) explained that International Human Rights Law may be difficult to uphold when sexual violence takes place in private. For example, most acts of sexual slavery and genital mutilation and sterilization take place in a private household. Therefore, many states may be unaware that this human rights violation is occurring since it is happening behind closed doors. Further, while International Human Rights Law protects the human rights of women, sexual violations against women are still occurring since incidents of these acts are underreported. Arieff (2009) explained that “in many African countries, law enforcement institutions, state investigatory entities, and provisions for the protection of victims are near-absent, which inhibits accurate reporting. These difficulties are compounded in conflict settings by general chaos and population displacements, safety fears, and a breakdown or lack of systems to collect and report information” (p. 3). As a result, humanitarian intervention may be limited due to the fact that the rates of sexual violence are not being acknowledged and properly documented by local, state, and government officials in Africa and in countries throughout the world.

Additionally, while the International Humanitarian Law was created to protect the human rights of civilians during armed conflict, sexual violations against women are still occurring in Africa as an act of armed conflict. Arieff (2009) found that during a 2010 conflict in Congo, women were ganged-raped “by two to six men at a time deliberately in front of family members to put fear into society” (p. 1). Not only is gang-rape a severe violation of a woman’s human rights, but it is also a violation under the International Humanitarian Law that established the laws of war. Under this law, people not involved in combat are supposed to be treated humanely (Solis, 2010). Unfortunately, the International Humanitarian Law has failed to protect women from acts of rape in conflict in Africa, and as a result, humanitarian organizations are now intervening to protect the human rights of women in this country.

Various human rights organizations are now implementing a variety of tactics to stop sexual violence against women in Africa and around the globe. Human rights organizations are groups of people who seek to end the violation of human rights in society (UN Women, 2013). First, Human Right Watch is a nongovernment organization whose mission includes exposing human rights violations. According to Gerntholtz (2013), Human Right Watch has been documenting and exposing acts of sexual violations against women during and after conflict in the “Democratic Republic of Congo, Colombia, Somalia, Iraq, Sierra Leone, Kosovo, Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, and Haiti.” As a result, the international community has become aware of the problem, and they have now acknowledged that sexual violence needs to be addressed through international and government efforts.

To help women who have been sexually violated, some international human rights organizations are now sneaking into countries to help victims of sexual violence. Bell, Clay, and Murdie (2012) explained that human rights organizations are now surrounding the borders of African countries, such as Kenya and South Africa, to help women safely flee from rape in conflict and acts of sexual violence. By protecting neighboring borders, human rights organizations are able to set up resources to help women flee from sexual abuse and to safely obtain treatment and resources in a state or country nearby (Bell et al., 2012). The end result is that women will have their human rights restored if they are under the protection of a human rights organization in a neighboring country or state.

If a human rights organization cannot penetrate a country or state to help nearby victims of sexual violence, then a human rights organization will seek to change the laws in the country or state that has been identified as having high rates of human violations against women. Un Women is a human rights organization that “partners with governments, UN agencies, civil society organizations, and other institutions to advocate for ending violence, increase awareness of the causes and consequences of violence, and build capacity of partners to prevent and respond to violence” (UN Women, 2013). One of the main missions of UN Women is to end violent sexual acts against women in Africa and in other countries around the globe. Since laws have failed to protect women against human rights violations, the organization now “works with governments to develop dedicated national action plans to prevent and address violence against women” (UN Women, 2013). Although UN Women’s mission is to change and implement laws to protect the human rights of women, human rights organizations face several challenges when trying to help sexually abused women.

Human rights organizations face three main challenges when trying to help women who have been sexually violated. First, even though human rights and international laws have been established to protect women from acts of sexual violence, many government officials are involved in human rights violations. For example, Pillay (2012) found that “senior government officials and military commanders have been implicated in a number of international crimes” (p. 10). Therefore, human rights organizations, such as UN Women who work with government officials to create and implement laws to stop sexual violence, face the challenge of working with government officials who are committing these acts themselves.

In addition, human rights organizations also face barriers when helping women who are living in an area of conflict. Although some human rights organizations assist in relocating women to neighboring countries and states to help them escape sexual violence, this tactic may not always be effective in stopping violations of this human right. Arieff (2009) found that many women who live in refugee camps continue to be victims of sexual violence since they usually flee their country with other family members. Unfortunately, this means that refugee camps can be composed of men who have the potential of sexually assaulting these victims once again. Furthermore, Arieff (2009) warns that women can easily be victims of human trafficking when they are taken across borders by human rights organizations since some women may be naïve and desperate to flee their environment and situation. As a result, there is the potential for a woman to be easily persuaded to leave a safe haven and to continue to be a victim of sexual violence.

Finally, the third challenge encountered by human rights organizations when trying to help stop the sexual abuse of women is cultural norms. Many countries in Africa and around the globe have cultural traditions that can be traced back for hundreds of years, and as a result, women may not want to stop these traditions even though they constitute a violation of one’s human rights. For example, genital mutilation is a long-standing cultural norm in Africa that is now considered a sexually violent act against women. However, research conducted by Kassea, Sakki, and Pirtilla-Backman (2009) determined that educated women in Africa view genital mutilation as a rite of passage and not as a human rights violation since it is based on tradition. Nevertheless, when human rights organizations, such as Human Rights Watch, try to help women who have undergone genital mutilation, they may confront resistance from government officials and women since this act is not deemed as a human rights violation in some countries.

Since human rights organizations continue to encounter barriers when trying to stop the sexual abuse of women around the globe, improvements are needed in human rights laws to enable human rights organizations and governments to protect and uphold the human rights of women. First, although the International Humanitarian Law was created to prosecute those people who commit acts of sexual violence against women during conflict, governments have failed to charge people for international crimes. As a result, many perpetrators continue to commit violent sexual acts against women since there is no one preventing them from reoffending. Pillay (2012) explained that “accountability for crimes and gross violations, including individual accountability under criminal law, is key to reinstate public trust in justice and security institutions to rebuild the rule of law and sustainable peace” (p. 9). Therefore, if international laws against human rights violations were being upheld and perpetrators were being convicted of these crimes, the rates of sexual violence against women may decrease drastically.

Also, although current international laws do acknowledge and protect the human rights of women, these laws do not specifically address sexual violence against women. Qureshi (2013) explained that International Human Rights Law was created for men and fails to address domestic and sexual violence against women. As a consequence, sexual violence fails to be addressed at United Nations Conferences and Women’s Conventions even though violence against women is a serious human rights violation (Qureshi, 2013). Nonetheless, if international laws that protect human rights were altered to specifically address sexual violence against women, human rights organizations and international and government officials may be able to design and implement more measures to end sexual violence against women throughout the world.

To conclude, although human rights laws and humanitarian organizations were created to protect the rights of women, sexual violence against women continues to be an epidemic in Africa and in countries throughout the world. While international laws, such as the International Human Rights Law and International Humanitarian Law, were established to protect the human rights of women, these laws have failed to fully protect women due to corrupt government officials, conflicts of war, and cultural traditions. Overall, if improvements were made to international laws, human rights organizations and officials may have better success at preventing and prosecuting those who commit sexually violent acts against women in society.

References

Arieff, A. (2009). Sexual violence in African conflicts. Retrieved from www.crs.gov

Bell, S.R., Clay, K.C., & Murdie, A. (2012). Neighborhood watch: Spatial effects of human rights INGOs. Journal of Politics, 74(2), 354-368.

Gerntholtz, L. (2013). It’s not just about sexual violence. Retrieved from http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/04/09/its-not-just-about-sexual-violence

Gordon, J. (2012). Human rights in bioethics-Theoretical and applied. Ethical Theory & Moral Practice, 15, 283-294.

Kassea, R., Sakki, I., & Pirtilla-Backman, A. (2009). Women’s human rights violations: Cameroonian student’s perspectives. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 19, 111-124.

Moeckli, D., Shah, S., Sivakumaran, S., & Harris, D. (2010). International human rights law. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Pillay, N. (2012). Establishing effective accountability mechanisms for human rights violations. UN Chronicle, 49(4), 8-11.

Qureshi, S. (2013). The recognition of violence against women as a violation of human rights in the United Nations system. South Asian Studies, 28(1), 187-198.

Solis, G.D. (2010). The law of armed conflict: International humanitarian law in war. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

UN Women. (2013). Justice for women during and after conflict. Retrieved from http://progress.unwomen.org/justice-for-women-during-and-after-conflict/