tinyurl.com/n1us -> jrscience.wcp.muohio.edu/Research/HNatureProposalsArticles/RapeWarfare.html
As a result of our inquiry into biological reasons for rape behavior, we have decided to concentrate on how frequently rape occurs in war. The fo rcible taking of womens sexual choice has been used as a way of attacki ng ones enemies since ancient times starting with cavemen, the Greeks a nd Romans, and medieval times leading all the way up to the American Civ il War, World War II, and the Vietnam War. Presently, genocidal rape i s happening in Bosnia-Herzegovnia, Croatia, and Rwanda. Ironically, unti l recently these violations of women were more of an insult to the fathe r, husband, or other group of men that these women belonged to. We will be using our previous research on biological reasons for rape thr oughout the course of the paper. We believe that there may be connection s between animal behavior in war and human behavior in war. We have read in Jane Goodalls book, Through a Window that when chimpanzees attack r ival groups they almost always will fiercely attack the females. This be havior may be paralleled in human warfare, where women become the reward for military bravery, but unlike with chimps, infanticide is common. There are three areas which we will examine more closely. We will study t he overall history of rape in war, and then focus in on the Vietnam War as an example. The genocidal rape and other violations of women in certa in parts of the world are perhaps the most upsetting because they are oc curring at this moment. What is it about war that seems to give men perm ission to rape women? What are some steps that can be taken to prevent t his horrendous assault on human rights from occurring? By raping women, or taking away a womans control over her reproductive choice, a man may feel more control over his own life. During war, when many men feel powerless because of rank, resorting to rape is a relativ ely easy way to regain some of their lost power. The male is usually of low status, which would mean that he is reproductively disadvantaged, and rape might be his only chance at repr oduction. When asked if they would commit rape if they knew they could get away wit h it, around half of the men surveyed answered yes. During war, a peri od of confusion where anything seems possible for the group who has the upper hand, rape is prevalent. Often, the troops are specifically told t o rape women, (as it was with American troops in the Vietnam War) as a w ay of demoralizing the people who were being invaded. Other times women were taken and raped as trophies and prizes. Recently, as we have seen i n Bosnia-Herzegovnia, rape has been used as a way of ethnic cleansing. The cartoonish depiction of a caveman bonking a woman on the head and dragging her off is not too f ar off from reality. Many laws in ancient civilizations considered women as property. When a woman was raped, she was often forced into marrying her assailant. In ancient Hebrew law, many times the rapist and the rap e victim were stoned to death. Raped women were considered damaged goods , and if a woman was found to be raped, then the husband/father/brothers would be monetarily reimbursed. The ancient Greeks and Romans would rape and enslave women af ter they had conquered a city. The Bible even condones the abduction of women as war trophies. War has certainly been prevalent in the twentieth century, and so has rap e There have been documented occurrences of rape during conflict in pla ces such as Vietnam, the Philippine Islands, El Salvador and in many oth er places during the world wars. There does not seem to be a place that is free from either rape or war on the planet. Even with all the knowledge of rape warfare in the past, somehow it is st ill being allowed to occur today. In her book, Rape Warfare: The Hidden Genocide in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia, Beverly Allen describes and analyzes three kinds of genocidal rape practiced by the Serb forces ther e Soldiers brutally rape women in public and then return several days l ater to guarantee safe passage for the terrified villagers only if they promise never to return. In this case, rape is used as an instrument of subjugation and fear-inducement which the soldiers can use to manipulate the decisions of the community they are trying to scare away. Secondly, persons held in concentration camps are repeatedly raped and often kill ed. And perhaps the most sickening form of rape is when soldiers repeate dly rape women until they become pregnant and then continue the acts of rape until it is too late in the pregnancy for the women to receive a sa fe abortion. The women are then released, eventually to give birth to a Serb child, and be eternally rejected by their husbands and family. Many of these women return home only to be compelled to commit suicide, many times after committing infanticide. This is not only forcing the women to have sex, but forcing them to become pregnant and have the soldiers children. That an injustice against womens rights to control their own bodies is occurring so frequently without any formal recognition is perh aps the largest tragedy of our times. Genocidal or systematic rape is not an isolated or random occurrence with in a war theater. It is planned by superior officers of the conquering f action as a widespread assault against a targeted group of women. It is often performed in front of the womens community as a way to humiliate them and terrorize and intimidate other citizens into fleeing. In additi on to the loss of control and dignity that all rape victims must face, t hese women realize that they have been targeted for rape not only becaus e they are women, but because they are women of the hated ethnicity or r ace. Maybe this needs to be separated from category of war crimes and be recognized as enraging molestation of human rights.
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