Gender-Based Violence Crimes in Conflict: A Discourse Analysis of International Justice Mechanisms

Abstract

Since the 1990s, international justice mechanisms have implemented numerous procedural adjustments in order to achieve a degree of inclusivity for gender-based violence crimes. Irrespective of these changes, justice for gender-based violence crimes in conflict continues to be limited despite the widespread nature of this crime. I note this pattern in three key international courts: The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Court. My discourse analysis of fifteen cases from these three courts examines how the courts engage with gender-based violence. Their engagement reveals that gender and race power structures inherently function within international gender-based violence justice, delineating the possibilities for gendered and racialized crimes. I find that gender inclusivity provisions continue to be ineffective due to these structures and theorise that for the successful future of gender-based violence justice, structural change is necessary. My paper initially exposes these structures and then discusses their implications, providing a final analytical summary that details the necessary changes within international justice for gender-based violence survivors to experience effective judicial processes.