Armed conflicts, in which violence is applied to civilians, have a diverse impact on particular social groups. One of the criteria determining differences in the way and scope of abuse is sex. Analysis of the different consequences of infringements in the case of women requires that the same violation has a different effect and leads to different secondary injuries depending on whether the victim is a male or female. During the last Balkan war 1991, rape was used as a planned tool of terror (Sullivan, 2000). It was strongly connected with gender, ethnicity, and nationalism. Used by all parties to the conflict, Bosnia was used in the most planned and systematic way. When talking about the Rwandan genocide, it is usually thought primarily about the victims of murders. We should not forget, however, that apart from murdering members of the Tutsi ethnic group were also mass rapes. In my work, I will only look at the situation of women – the most deprived and not in direct confrontations. I will take up the subject of war mass rapes, and planned in the Balkans war, as well as Rwanda genocide, I will consider the possible causes of their occurrence on such a scale and links with the existing stereotype of a woman.
As Sullivan John notes, analysts have distinguished three types of rape committed in Bosnia by Serbs after entering the village, by prison guards in detention camps and in rape camps or houses temporarily occupied by Serbs for this purpose (Sullivan, 2000). A war in the former Yugoslavia aroused interest and horror of Europe. An armed conflict taking place on the European continent could have a significant impact on the situation of neighboring countries, and there was a risk of its escalation. The proximity of Yugoslavia did not allow to ignore events and crimes committed. That’s why Europe actively got involved in the dispute, trying to bring peace and stabilize the situation.
The Rwandans genocide after 1994. This also translates into the attitude of the authorities to this matter. During three months of mascara, at least 500,000 women were raped (Landesman, 2002). While often deliberately bringing victims to HIV – just like mass murder, this type of action is also considered a crime against humanity. As a result in relation to abortion, the experience of the period is also reflected in the collective consciousness of Rwanda society (Paquette, 2017). The presence of journalists enabled the flow of information on the course of the war and the disclosure of atrocities carried out by all parties to the conflict. These observations drew my attention and I believe so it helps me find directions to get answers to my research question.
According to the newspaper reports, rapes were often carried out in public, they included elements that degraded the victim (Simons, 2001). Very often, the aggressor was known to a raped woman, came from her community or close surroundings, which deepened the trauma. Rape is a crime against the honor and dignity of a woman (Sullivan, 2000). This understanding can become problematic because in patriarchal societies honor is identified with virginity and purity. Rape implies a loss of honor and thus leads to a drastic reduction in status and a loss of respect for both the woman and her family. The emphasis on the question of honor is diminished by the fact that rape is a crime against a woman, her body, her autonomy, her identity, her security, her integrity (Quindlen, 1993). In addition to the unitary consequences for the woman’s psyche, depression, and long-term trauma, she also has a social dimension.
