Combatting Rape as a Weapon

Jennifer Turpin is an outspoken advocate for the cause of women who are the forgotten victims of war. She is the co-editor for The Women in War Reader (1999) as well as the Dean for the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of San Francisco.  Turpin writes a paper entitled Women confronting War which deals with the issue of just how heavily women are affected in wartimes. Women are the forgotten victims of war, Turpin says, though they are affected the most by war. Turpin argues this in her statements of women make up the largest group of causalities in war because they are a huge part of the civilian population in wars, women as refugees are also hugely affected in that they usually are forced out of their homeland, are the sole providers for their families, and they usually have little or no way to sustain this role. Turpin also says that women are largely victimized through rape, forced prostitution and domestic violence. 

These statements lead me to ask, what is being done to combat rape as a weapon in war? As Turpin’s sources are slightly dated (the most recent being from 1998), I searched for more recent information. Surprisingly, I did not find a wealth of information on the topic, as I expected to, rather I found a few news articles here and there. However, these articles do bring a glimmer of light to the dismal situation. The UN is doing work to try and establish harsh penalties for rape everywhere in the world, because it is considered a crime against humanity. The Christian Science Monitor (http://www.csmonitor.com/) has made the call for the Obama administration and the global community to act quickly and forcefully in order to combat the issue of rape as a weapon. (Clark) There is a group, based in the US who are trying to educate in order to stop the raping of women during war. Women for women International started a program in 2006 that teaches and educates men about women who have been raped, and teach them the consequences that go along with this act.

Women for Women have realized that it is not effective if they only view men as the perpetrators of this heinous crime, instead they have begun to see them as allies in the face of adversity. They use men’s influence in their localities, because if they only teach and help women, nothing good would come of it in the long run. An instance where educating men has worked is in the case of a Congo man named Bahati. “‘I was so angry. Up until now, I can't forget. I can't express how bad I feel,’ says Mr. Bahati, an unemployed former small-business owner.” (Clark) Women for Women helped Mr. Bahati to understand that his wife was not destroyed by rape, and 4 years after he kicked her out of their home, he welcomed her back. This program is the first in many steps of combating rape as a weapon. Women for Women CEO Stepehn Glaude says: “that the focus on men is the next stage in the evolution of the fight against rape – after treating rape victims and helping women reduce the risk of rape. ‘We are the next leg of the movement.’”

Works Cited

al., Jihane Ben Kheder et. The New School Graduate Program in International Affairs. 27 March 2009. 21 October 2010 <http://www.gpia.info/node/2319>.

Clark, Matthew. "Congo: Confronting rape as a weapon of war." 4 August 2009. Christian Science Monitor. 21 October 2010 <http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Africa/2009/0804/p17s01-woaf.html>.

Mark Sommers, Katherine Birch. "Combat the terror of rape in Congo." 27 January 2009. Christian Science Monitor. 21 October 2010 <http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2009/0127/p09s02-coop.html>.

Turpin, Jennifer. "Women Confronting War." Ackley, Katherine Anne. Perspectives on Contemporary Issues. Toronto: Thomson Nelson, 2008. 324-329.