Wartime Rape: Identifying Knowledge Gaps and their Implications

Abstract

This article reviews the literature on wartime rape and identifies four principal gaps: first, the need to identify modalities of wartime rape; second, the importance of identifying the ways by which the family and community of raped individuals are also impacted by wartime rape; third, the importance of exploring effects of wartime rape alongside the physical and psychological consequences; and fourth, the importance of understanding the cultural context in which the rape took place. Filling these gaps, we argue, is important in order to better understand wartime rape and hence more effectively promote post-conflict recovery and prevent its perpetration in the future