Defining Rape Emerging Obligations For States Under International Law

The crime of rape has been prevalent in all contexts, whether committed during armed conflict or in peacetime, and has largely been characterised by a culture of impunity. International law, through its branches of international human rights law, international humanitarian law and international criminal law, has increasingly condemned such violence and is progressively obliging states to prevent rape, whether committed by a state agent or a private actor.

From ancient to modern times, sexualised war violence against women was tolerated if not encouraged as a means of reward, propaganda, humiliation, and terror. This was and is in defiance of international laws that have criminalised acts of sexualised war violence since the 18th century. Ad hoc international tribunals have addressed especially war rape since the 15th century. The International Criminal Court (ICC), however, is the first independent, permanent, international criminal court that recognises not only war rape but also sexual slavery and other sexualised crimes as crimes against humanity, war crimes, and acts of genocide in its statute and supporting documents. This book explores how the ICC definitions of rape and forced marriage came about, and addresses the ongoing challenge of how to define war rape and forced marriage in times of armed conflict in a way that adequately reflects women’s experiences, as well as the nature of the crimes. In addition to deepening the understanding of the ICC negotiations of war rape and forced marriage, and of the crimes themselves, this volume highlights relevant factors that need to be considered when criminalising acts of sexualised war violence under international law. Sexualised Crimes, Armed Conflict and the Law draws on feminist and constructivist theories and offers a comprehensive theoretical and empirical examination of the definition of rape and forced marriage. It presents the latest state of knowledge on the topic and will be of interest to researchers, academics, policymakers, officials and intergovernmental organisations, and students in the fields of post-conflict law and justice, international law, human rights law, international relations, gender studies, politics, and criminology.

In Gender-Sensitive Norm Interpretation by Regional Human Rights Law Systems Maria Sjöholm examines the jurisprudence on gender-based harm in the European, Inter-American and African regional human rights law systems, from the viewpoint of feminist legal methods and theories.--

This book presents an interdisciplinary approach to definition of torture by bringing together behavioral science and international law perspectives on torture. It is a collaborative effort by a group of prominent scholars of behavioral sciences, international law, human rights, and public health with internationally recognized expertise and authority in their field. It represents a first ever attempt to explore the scientific basis of legal understanding of torture and inform international law on various definitional issues by proposing a sound theory- and empirical-evidence-based psychological formulation of torture. Drawing on scientific evidence from the editor's 30 years of systematic research on torture, it proposes a learning theory formulation of torture based on the concept of helplessness under the control of others and offers an assessment methodology that can reduce the element of subjectivity in legal judgments in individual cases. It also demonstrates how this formulation can help understand the nature and severity of ill-treatments in different contexts, such as domestic violence and adverse conditions of penal confinement. Through a learning theory analysis of "enhanced interrogation techniques," it demonstrates not only why these techniques constitute torture but also how they help us understand the contextual defining characteristic of torture in general. The proposed formulation implies a broader concept of torture than previously understood, provides scientific and moral justification for the evolving trends in international law towards a broader coverage of ill-treatments in contexts beyond official custody and points to new directions of expansion of the concept. With a focus on the concepts of shame and humiliation and their evolutionary origin, the book explains why inhuman or degrading treatments can cause as much pain or suffering as physical torture. Although treatment issues are not covered, the book sheds light on potentially effective treatment approaches by offering important insights into psychology of torture.

This groundbreaking study seeks to clarify the concept of universal crimes in international law. It provides a new framework for understanding important features of this complex field of law concerned with the most serious crimes. Central issues include the following: What are the relevant crimes that may give rise to direct criminal liability under international law? Are they currently limited to certain core international crimes? Why should certain crimes be included whereas other serious offences should not? Should specific legal bases be considered more compelling than others for selection of crimes? Terje Einarsen (1960) is a judge at the Gulating High Court. He holds a Ph.D. (Doctor Juris) from the University of Bergen and a masters degree (LL.M.) from Harvard Law School.

This book sheds new light on the ongoing fight to end prostitution through a historical study of its emotional communities. An issue that has long been the subject of much debate amongst feminists, governments and communities alike, the history of the fight to end prostitution has an important bearing on feminist politics today. This book identifies key abolitionist emotional communities, tracing their origins, interactions and evolutions with various historical and contemporary emotional styles. In doing do, Emotional Histories in the Fight to End Prostitution highlights a more nuanced view of the movement's history. From Moral Liberals in 19th century Britain to the American anti-pornography movement and Swedish 'Nordic Model', Emotional Histories in the Fight to End Prostitution shows how emotional styles and practices have influenced the evolution of the fight against prostitution in Britain, the United States and Western Europe. From the fear of sin, to maternal compassion and survivor shame and loss, Michele Greer historicizes emotions and studies them as dynamic forms of situated knowledge. In doing so, she sheds light on how women's lived experiences have been transformed and politicized, and raises important questions around how feminist emotions in social protest can not only challenge but unknowingly defend existing socio-political conventions and inequalities. Highlighting the links between past and present forms of abolitionism, it shows that this connection is more complex and far-reaching than currently assumed, and offers new perspectives on the history of emotions.

In July 1943, the Gestapo arrested an obscure member of the resistance movement in Nazi-occupied Belgium. When his torture-inflicting interrogators determined he was no use to them and that he was a Jew, he was deported to Auschwitz. Liberated in 1945, Jean Am�ry went on to write a series of essays about his experience. No reflections on torture are more compelling. Am�ry declared that the victims of torture lose trust in the world at the �very first blow.� The contributors to this volume use their expertise in Holocaust studies to reflect on ethical, religious, and legal aspects of torture then and now. Their inquiry grapples with the euphemistic language often used to disguise torture and with the question of whether torture ever constitutes a �necessary evil.� Differences of opinion reverberate, raising deeper questions: Can trust be restored? What steps can we as individuals and as a society take to move closer to a world in which torture is unthinkable?

Robson Crim is housed in Robson Hall, one of Canada's oldest law schools. Robson Crim has transformed into a Canada wide research hub in criminal law, with blog contributions from coast to coast, and from outside of this nation's borders. With over 30 academic peer collaborators at Canada's top law schools, Robson Crim is bringing leading criminal law research and writing to the reader. We also annually publish a special edition criminal law volume of the Manitoba Law Journal, providing a chance for authors to enter the peer reviewed fray. The Journal has ranked in the top 0.1 percent on Academia.edu and is widely used. This issue has articles from a variety of contributing authors including: David Ireland, Richard Jochelson, Lucinda Vandervort, Paul M. Alexander, Kelly De Luca, Davinder Singh, Karen Busby, Gurgen Petrossian, Anita Grace, Kyle McCleery, Colton Fehr, Kathryn M. Campbell, Jonathan Avey, Maeve W. McMahon, Paetrick Sakowski, Nathan Phelan, and Lauren Chancellor.