The International Criminal Court's Protection of Women: The Hands of Justice at Work

This article discusses the treatment of gender-based violence under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the degree to which it protects female victims of sexually-motivated crimes. Part II discusses the ICC Statute and the protection it offers women. Part III applies the provisions of the ICC Statute to the situations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Kosovo. The article concludes (Part IV) that the accomplishments of the ICC are significant, and that the specificity with which the Rome Statute was written awards the ICC jurisdiction over the gender-based crimes occurring in DRC and Kosovo. The author therefore recommends that the ICC prosecute and demand immediate indictments of perpetrators in DRC and Kosovo.