Sexual Violence and Armed Conflict

Sexual violence is one of the most persistent dimensions of armed conflict and security governance. While conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) has become an established area of scholarly inquiry and a major problem of interest to the United Nations, research on sexual violence within military organizations has often developed along separate theoretical and policy paths. This panel seeks to bring these sometimes siloed conversations into dialogue with one another by examining sexual violence across the continuum of armed conflict, military institutions, and peace-keeping operations. We invite papers that explore the causes, dynamics, consequences, and prevention and response to sexual violence in contexts of war, conflict, organized violence, peacekeeping settings including sexual violence perpetrated against civilians as well as service members in these settings. We are particularly interested in research that investigates how institutional cultures, organizational incentives, power relations, gender norms, and accountability mechanisms shape patterns of sexual violence and responses to sexual violence. The panel welcomes contributions that examine state militaries, non-state armed groups, peacekeeping groups, service members, veterans, and post-conflict institutions, as well as the experiences of those directly involved in sexual violence (survivors, perpetrators), those indirectly involved (victim advocates, criminal justice response professionals, family of survivors) or affected communities and organizations.