The Body of the Nation:
International Efforts to Address Sexual Violence in Conflict and Post-Conflict Zones
Edited by Tonia St.Germain, J.D. and Susan Dewey, Ph.D.
President Obama has vowed to put women’s issues at the core of American foreign policy. His decision to institute an Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues is unprecedented and reflects the elevated importance of global women’s issues to the State Department. Secretary of State Clinton has drawn attention to women at nearly every stop in her travels, most recently on a visit to eastern Congo to speak out against mass rape. Clearly Obama’s Administration recognizes the urgency of this crisis surrounding the use of rape as a tool in armed conflict in Africa and worldwide. Feminists in the academy have an opportunity to help shape the questions leaders will answer as they formulate policy to address: (1) sexual violence as a weapon of war; (2) sex trafficking as a by- product of war; (3) services to help victims of these atrocities.
In this spirit, we invite papers for an anthology on international efforts to address sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict zones. The twentieth and twenty-first centuries have witnessed historically unprecedented levels of violence against non-combatants as well as a concomitant rise in international and local efforts to assist survivors of conflict-related sexual violence. While a growing literature documents the use of rape as a tool of war, there is a glaring lack of accessible work on the initiatives and institutions currently tackling sexual violence as a serious issue in conflict and post-conflict situations throughout the world. Our co-edited volume will employ case studies from research on such global and local initiatives and institutions, thereby arriving at a deeper understanding of the various ways in which communities respond to this issue cross-culturally.
As we would like to specifically target our volume toward undergraduates and a general audience, we seek accessibly written chapters from a variety of methodological, theoretical and disciplinary standpoints, with a particular focus on the following areas: [1] the ability of international criminal tribunals to prosecute wartime sexual violence without further victimization of witnesses; [2] analyses of culture-specific practices and institutions, including NGOs and state initiatives that address gender-based violence in conflict and post-conflict situations; [3] efforts toward integrating men into the discourse of sexual violence as both victims and agents of power, including judges, prosecutors and state agency leaders; [4] the impact of military regulations and military culture in constructing accountability for soldiers, border guards, police, aid workers, and United Nations peacekeepers.
This compilation seeks to challenge the limited scope of current published research by encouraging contributions from outside North America and Europe. Papers from any geographic area of the developing world are welcome. We are looking for submissions that advance knowledge on the relationship between the state and its response to sexual violence during violent conflict and post-conflict situations. Papers that use gender, race, ethnicity, class, and sexual orientation as a category of analysis within different conflicts are encouraged. Only original work will be accepted.
Papers should be approximately 8,000 words excluding notes and bibliography. Fifteen papers will be selected for publication. Please send abstracts; paper submission date is May 1, 2010. Publication submission date is set for September 15, 2010.
Submissions should be sent electronically in APA format to susandewey@depauw.edu.
