Library Portal | UWC Portal | National ETDs | Global ETDs
    • Login
    Contact Us | Quick Submission Guide | About Us | FAQs | Login
    View Item 
    •   ETD Home
    • Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences
    • Department of Political Studies
    • Masters Administration - MADMIN
    • View Item
    •   ETD Home
    • Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences
    • Department of Political Studies
    • Masters Administration - MADMIN
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    (De)legitimizing rape as a weapon of war: patriarchy, narratives and the African Union

    Thumbnail
    View/Open
    Thesis (14.87Mb)
    Date
    2014
    Author
    Langeveldt, Veleska
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Abstract
    The African continent has over the past 40 years witnessed a continued scourge of violent conflict and human rights abuses. These conflicts have significantly undermined the social, political, and economic prosperity of African citizens. Additionally, women and children are particularly affected by these conflicts. Women and children are regarded as ‘the most vulnerable’ as they often become the targets of sexual abuse by the enemy. The African Union (AU) is primarily responsible for the resolution of conflicts on the continent. It professes to be committed to the prevention of human rights abuses and the protection of African women (and children) during armed conflicts. It has thus developed an array of mechanisms, protocols, and instruments to address the exploitation and sexual abuse of women during conflict periods. These instruments include: The Constitutive Act of the AU (2000); The Solemn Declaration of Gender Equality in Africa (2003); the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa- ACHPRWA (2004); and the Protocol relating to the Peace and Security Council. In this research project, I consider whether the narratives used in these AU documents sufficiently and explicitly address the use of rape as a strategic weapon during armed conflicts; or whether these narratives inadvertently contribute to a culture that perpetuates war-time rape. My analysis shows that these AU documents deal with war-time rape in very vague and euphemistic terms. Although gender discrimination, sexual violence, exploitation, discrimination, and harmful practices against women are condemned, the delegitimization of rape as a weapon of war is not specifically discussed. This allows for varying interpretations of AU protocols, including interpretations which may diminish the severity of strategic rape. This has lead me to propose that the narratives used in these AU protocols and related documents draw on patriarchy, perpetuate patriarchy, and thus inadvertently perpetuates a culture that perpetuates the use of rape as a weapon of war
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/11394/4068
    Collections
    • Masters Administration - MADMIN [19]

    DSpace 5.5 | Ubuntu 14.04 | Copyright © University of the Western Cape
    Contact Us | Send Feedback
    Theme by 
    @mire NV
     

     

    Browse

    All of RepositoryCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects

    My Account

    Login

    Statistics

    View Usage Statistics

    DSpace 5.5 | Ubuntu 14.04 | Copyright © University of the Western Cape
    Contact Us | Send Feedback
    Theme by 
    @mire NV