23 Conclusion

Through introducing concepts and theories, we can start to understand the mobilization of sexual aggression and the systematic use of sexual violence against women’s bodies as a tactic of war. Personal accounts of women around the world document the widespread use of sexual violence and humanize the often overlooked realities of war. Understanding that sexual violence can be weaponized as humiliation and degradation tactics in the context of war can help move beyond the mainstream narrative of rape being an individual crime of passion. The enforcement of patriarchy (in wartime or otherwise) through gendered institutions and patriarchal social structures resulting from the historical exclusion from social, economic, and political power.

We can draw from the personal accounts of these women to acknowledge the limitations in understanding the extent of rape as a weapon of war that has resulted in the lack of extensive research on sexual violence in conflict. It is vital to recognize the widespread experiences of wartime sexual violence as not only historical but a part of the present due to the continuation of patriarchal structures that led to the weaponization of sexual violence. This calls to action the need to shift prioritization beyond accountability and focusing on the dismantling of such gendered and patriarchal systems of power.