Kirby, Paul (2015) Ending sexual violence in conflict: the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative and its critics. International Affairs, 91 (3). pp. 457-472. ISSN 1468-2346

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

During the past year, the UK Government has become the lead advocate for a perhaps surprising foreign policy goal: ending sexual violence in conflict. The participation of government representatives from more than 120 countries in a London Summit in June 2014 was the clearest manifestation of this project. This article offers an early assessment of the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative (PSVI) and situates it within the history of global action against sexual and gender-based violence from UN Security Council Resolution 1325 onwards, with a particular focus on three key developments. First, the PSVI has embraced the already common understanding of rape as a ‘weapon of war’, and has stressed the importance of military training and accountability. This has exposed the tensions within global policy between a focus on all forms of sexual violence (including intimate partner violence in and out of conflict situations) on the one hand, and war zone activities on the other. Second, the Initiative has placed great emphasis on ending impunity, which implicates it in ongoing debates about the role of international and local justice as an effective response to atrocity. Third, men and boys have been foregrounded as ignored victims of sexual and gender-based violence. The PSVI has been crucial to that recognition, but faces significant challenges in operationalizing its commitment and in avoiding damage to existing programmes to end violence against women and girls. The success of the Initiative will depend on its ability to navigate these challenges in multiple arenas of global politics.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	wartime sexual violence, rape, UK government, Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative, PSVI, gender, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, William Hague, impunity,
Schools and Departments:	School of Global Studies > International Relations
Subjects:	J Political Science > JZ International relations > JZ6385 The armed conflict. War and order J Political Science > JZ International relations > JZ6530 Humanitarian aspects of war K Law > KZ Law of Nations > KZ1165 Trials > KZ1168 War crime trials
Depositing User:	Paul Kirby
Date Deposited:	25 Jun 2015 11:04
Last Modified:	25 Jun 2015 11:04
URI:	http://srodev.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/54983

📧 Request an update