Knowing Women: Translating Patriarchy in International Criminal Law

This article examines the prevalence of patriarchal values in issues that pertain to women. This involves transitional justice institutions (such as the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia) constantly conflating 'victim' with 'woman', as well as associating women with 'sexual violence'. The author then focuses particularly on the challenges that the male-centric nature of society and these patriarchal institutions' administration of justice have posed for the survival and recuperation of these women. She concludes with the notion that patriarchy is the main lens through which Bosnian Muslim women's experience of violence has been understood, which stands at odds with the nuanced and varied experiences these women have had, especially after the conflict.