Sexual violence as a weapon of war has been absent for some time in the analysis of armed conflict even though it has been incorporated into the peace and security agenda in recent years.
In the book Violencia sexual y conflictos armados (Sexual violence and armed conflicts), Janie Leatherman analyzes how the conditions that contribute to sexual violence in armed conflicts are created, and what the consequences and possible responses are. The author examines how the structures of the global political economy are involved in war and in the acts of sexual violence that it entails. Her main argument is that a system of patriarchal domination and a shared vision of hegemonic masculinity encourage and contribute to the existence of this type of violence. She focuses her criticism on globalized corporations that obtain profits from countries devastated by war and thus also from victims of sexual violence. The book also proposes strategies of prevention and protection, and programs to support the rehabilitation of survivors and their communities.
This book represents a very important contribution to the analysis of this serious violation of the human, sexual and reproductive rights of women in contemporary armed conflicts.
The author
Janie L. Leatherman is Professor of Politics and International Studies at Fairfield University. Her research encompasses conflict early warning and prevention, conflict transformation and peacebuilding. Lately, her research has focused on the global political economy of sexual violence in armed conflicts and its gendered dimensions.
29.01.2014
