Do We Need New International Law to Protect Women in Armed Conflict?

In this article, Karima Bennoune assesses two competing views about the status of the protection of women in armed conflict in international humanitarian law. The first view, espoused by the International Committee of the Red Cross, holds that existing laws are adequate to protect women in armed conflict if only they are properly implemented and respected. The second view, espoused by a number of contemporary feminist critics, holds that existing laws are archaic and reflect stereotypes about women that perpetuate discrimination such that implementing them is insufficient adequately to protect women in armed conflict. Bennoune agrees with the second view. She argues that, since what the law designed to protect women says about them affects how militaries are trained, the way in which crimes against women are understood, and whether these crimes are prosecuted, the existing law should be revised to reflect our advanced understanding of violence against women.