Criminal Justice for Gendered Violence and Beyond

This article examines the shortcomings of post-conflict accountability mechanisms for sexual and sex-based violence against women and the need to legally respond to the different kinds of harms they experience. The authors focus on the subjective experiences of women in conflict. They argue that sexual and sex- based violence connects to a host of other harms- socio-cultural, psychological, and economic that legal systems are failing to address. Consequently, international criminal laws exclusive focus on sexual violence does not amount to a comprehensive system of legal accountability for harms against women. Attention must be paid to violations of social and economic rights that disproportionately affect women due to their gendered role in many societies. If these harms are ignored, post-conflict reconstruction and distributive justice will suffer. The authors also discuss the development of sexual violence as a crime under international law, its positive aspects and continued gaps.