The Genocidal Rape of Bosnian Muslim Women during the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

In this dissertation, it was shown that rape was used in the Bosnian war as a genocidal tool by Serb forces against Bosnian Muslim women. A historical narrative was chosen in order to show exactly what led to the war, going back to the Second World War and Yugoslavia's peak. Nationalism, particularly Serb nationalism, was paid attention to as it resurfaced once Yugoslavia started to decline and it became stronger during the war leading to it playing a part in the usage of rape against Bosnian Muslim women. Socio-legal methodology was also used, and there was a focus on the work of the ICTY, particularly its cases involving sexual violence. This study was able to come to a conclusion that the rapes conducted by Serb forces against Bosnian Muslim women could be characterized as genocidal rapes. However, there were no prosecutions for that specific crime and this dissertation highlighted that despite the fact that no court has specifically stated that rape was used as a tool of genocide there were still compelling arguments for framing the rapes committed as a genocidal weapon of war. This dissertation was written in order to provide a new outlook to the crimes committed during the Bosnian war, and to reinforce the statement that the genocide recognized at Srebrenica is not the only genocide that occurred during the war. The aim of this dissertation was to show that the rapes conducted during the war went beyond sexual relief for the perpetrators, and instead were part of a larger campaign that could have been classified as genocide. This dissertation was written in order to highlight the complexity of the Bosnian war, which was illustrated by the historical narrative taken, and how women's rights were violated during the war. The dissertation showed that simply by looking at the definition of genocide commonly accepted by international law, the rapes committed against Bosnian Muslim women could be classified as genocide and should have been prosecuted as such.