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“We need to cut the unnecessary charges, like rape.” En fallstudie av the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) och dess problem med att utreda sexuellt våld mot kvinnor

Häkkinen, Elsa LU (2009) MRSK01 20091
Human Rights Studies
Abstract (Swedish)
The essay focuses on international law and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) from a feminist perspective. My position is that these institutions are founded on patriarchal structures that oppress women and women’s experiences in favour for men and men’s experiences. My intention is therefore to investigate how the ICTR has failed to address crimes of sexual violence and rape and why that is. To do this I apply feminist juridical theories on international law on my material that consists of publications from NGO:s and the UN which are all based on interviews with women in Rwanda who were subjected to sexual violence and/or rape during the genocide. What I find is that international law lacks inclusion of women and... (More)
The essay focuses on international law and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) from a feminist perspective. My position is that these institutions are founded on patriarchal structures that oppress women and women’s experiences in favour for men and men’s experiences. My intention is therefore to investigate how the ICTR has failed to address crimes of sexual violence and rape and why that is. To do this I apply feminist juridical theories on international law on my material that consists of publications from NGO:s and the UN which are all based on interviews with women in Rwanda who were subjected to sexual violence and/or rape during the genocide. What I find is that international law lacks inclusion of women and women’s experiences, is built on a male norm and distinguishes some crimes, which mostly women are subjected to, from the public to the private arena, which excludes them from international law. This is also shown in how the processes in the ICTR are handled; a lack of interest from the prosecutor to investigate sexual violence and rape, with women testifying feeling violated in court, and rape being treated differently from other crimes. With this essay I want to show that international law and the international legal system are not made for women, but by men and for men only. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Häkkinen, Elsa LU
supervisor
organization
course
MRSK01 20091
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
sexuellt våld, international law, feminism, ICTR, sexual violence, rape, Rwanda, våldtäkt, internationell lag
language
Swedish
id
1405559
date added to LUP
2009-06-16 14:05:04
date last changed
2014-09-04 08:27:44
@misc{1405559,
  abstract     = {{The essay focuses on international law and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) from a feminist perspective. My position is that these institutions are founded on patriarchal structures that oppress women and women’s experiences in favour for men and men’s experiences. My intention is therefore to investigate how the ICTR has failed to address crimes of sexual violence and rape and why that is. To do this I apply feminist juridical theories on international law on my material that consists of publications from NGO:s and the UN which are all based on interviews with women in Rwanda who were subjected to sexual violence and/or rape during the genocide. What I find is that international law lacks inclusion of women and women’s experiences, is built on a male norm and distinguishes some crimes, which mostly women are subjected to, from the public to the private arena, which excludes them from international law. This is also shown in how the processes in the ICTR are handled; a lack of interest from the prosecutor to investigate sexual violence and rape, with women testifying feeling violated in court, and rape being treated differently from other crimes. With this essay I want to show that international law and the international legal system are not made for women, but by men and for men only.}},
  author       = {{Häkkinen, Elsa}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{“We need to cut the unnecessary charges, like rape.” En fallstudie av the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) och dess problem med att utreda sexuellt våld mot kvinnor}},
  year         = {{2009}},
}