3 The Protection of Women

Subject(s):

Women, rights — Rape and sexual violence — Genocide

This chapter looks into the protection of women in armed conflicts being guaranteed under the 1977 Additional Protocols. It notes the risk of sexual and gender-based violence amidst an armed conflict, which triggers protection under the international humanitarian law (IHL). The United Nations has been active in its system-wide approach to tackling the issues of protecting women, peace, and security. The chapter also considers the prohibition of sexual violence against women as a serious violation of a war crime and the IHL. The International Criminal Court punishes offenders of rape, sexual slavery, and other forms of sexual violence of comparable gravity as crimes against humanity. The chapter then explains the impacts of conflict-related sexual violence, which has been regarded to last a lifetime.