Description
The core aim of this paper is to analyze the legal framework of conflict related sexual violence in general and the legal framework and the measures that have been taken from the Kosovo context. The legal framework will be discussed and reviewed focusing on the both the institutional and noninstitutional level. Specifically, the paper discusses the steps that have been taken towards providing a virtuous legal framework and reparation for survivors of conflict related sexual violence in Kosovo after the 1999 Kosovo-Serbia conflict. The overall sexual violence experiences have shown that information and acknowledge about sexual violence perpetrated during armed conflicts are scarce, scattered and very often very selective due to numerous challenges that such victims face. While there has been an increase awareness that sexual violence is a war crime over the past decades, the long term effects of the crimes are still felt by the victims, families, community and the country. The paper describes the challenges that have been put forward to the victims of conflict related sexual violence such as: ending the stigma, impunity for the perpetrators, implementation of comprehensive reparation programs for the victims, the denials of the survivor’s access to justice, survivals right to reparation, and empower women to support sustainable peace-building within the Kosovo context.
Chair
Silvia D’Amato
Discussant
Silvia D’Amato & Jonas Driedger
Session Type
Panel 3
Topic
Security Threats and Policies
The Legal Framework of Conflict Related Sexual Violence: The Kosovo Case
The core aim of this paper is to analyze the legal framework of conflict related sexual violence in general and the legal framework and the measures that have been taken from the Kosovo context. The legal framework will be discussed and reviewed focusing on the both the institutional and noninstitutional level. Specifically, the paper discusses the steps that have been taken towards providing a virtuous legal framework and reparation for survivors of conflict related sexual violence in Kosovo after the 1999 Kosovo-Serbia conflict. The overall sexual violence experiences have shown that information and acknowledge about sexual violence perpetrated during armed conflicts are scarce, scattered and very often very selective due to numerous challenges that such victims face. While there has been an increase awareness that sexual violence is a war crime over the past decades, the long term effects of the crimes are still felt by the victims, families, community and the country. The paper describes the challenges that have been put forward to the victims of conflict related sexual violence such as: ending the stigma, impunity for the perpetrators, implementation of comprehensive reparation programs for the victims, the denials of the survivor’s access to justice, survivals right to reparation, and empower women to support sustainable peace-building within the Kosovo context.
