Unrecognized Victims: Sexual Violence against Men in Conflict Settings under International Law
![handle is hein.journals/wisint27 and id is 1 raw text is: UNRECOGNIZED VICTIMS: SEXUAL VIOLENCE
AGAINST MEN IN CONFLICT SETTINGS UNDER
INTERNATIONAL LAW
DUSTIN A. LEWIS1
INTRODUCTION
Sexual violence against men as a constituent element of geno-
cide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes often goes under noticed,
under prosecuted, and, ultimately, under punished. To date, this issue
has received relatively short shrift in international conventions,3 the juri-
sprudence of international tribunals,4 and the writings of learned public-
ists.5 The lack of recognition, enforcement, and analysis stems from-
Junior Associate, Program on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research (HPCR) at Harvard
University. LL.M. summa cum laude in International Law of Human Rights and Criminal Jus-
tice, Utrecht University School of Law, 2008; A.B. cum laude, Harvard College, 2005. Former
Visiting Professional, Chambers of the International Criminal Court, The Hague, 2008. This ar-
ticle developed out of my LL.M. thesis, for which professors Terry D. Gill and Hector Olhsolo
served as co-advisers.Comments from Helen Fyfe, Jennifer Jude, Krista Lee-Jones, Kathleen
Maloney-Dunn, Suzanne Sin, Brian Wong, and Journal staff enhanced the final version. The
views expressed herein are solely those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of
HPCR, the ICC, or any other person or entity. Any errors or omissions are the author's alone.
2 While armed conflict is not a necessary condition for genocide or crimes against humanity
(though it is for war crimes), throughout this article I examine sexual violence against men in the
specific context of armed conflict. I do so, firstly, because there is substantial overlap in the
causes and consequences of sexual violence against men in each of these three international
crimes, and, secondly, because the current literature does not identify many, if any, relevant dis-
tinctions between and among such violence when perpetrated as a constituent element of geno-
cide, of crimes against humanity, and of war crimes. Moreover, as a practical matter, genocide
and crimes against humanity (or the impending threat of either) have historically been accompa-
nied by armed conflict. For the specific contextual elements of each set of crimes, see infra Sec-
tions III.A (genocide), III.B (crimes against humanity), and III.C (war crimes), respectively.
3 See infra Sections IB-C.
4 See infra Sections III.A-C.
Sandesh Sivakumaran is an exception. His groundbreaking recent work introduces many of the
issues I expound upon here. See Sandesh Sivakumaran, Sexual Violence Against Men in Armed
Conflict, 18 EUR. J. INT'L L. 253 (2007) [hereinafter Sivakumaran, Sexual Violence]; Sandesh
Sivakumaran, Male/Male Rape and the 'Taint' of Homosexuality, 27 HUM. RTS. QTY. 1274
(2005) [hereinafter Sivakumaran, Male/Male Rape]. Hilmi Zawati also sketches some of these
issues. Hilmi M. Zawati, Impunity or Immunity: Wartime Male Rape and Sexual Torture as a
Crime Against Humanity, 17 TORTURE 27, 27-47 (2007).](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/wisint27&div=3&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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Unrecognized Victims: Sexual Violence against Men in Conflict Settings under International Law
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