Des viols pendant la guerre d'Algérie

Abstract

The systematic practice of rape during the war in ex-Yugoslavia from 1991 - 1995 put this specific violence in the spotlight whereas it is too often considered as a universal collateral damage of wars. In the historical field, it has shaken up the view on war violence and brought about a certain reconsideration of this history. Historiography is making slow progress on this subject because of the difficulty of getting to the sources. During the Algerian war, French soldiers' rape of Algerian women is beginning to be studied. While they are partially the reflection of women's active commitment in this conflict, they are nevertheless especially the reflection of the balance of power that characterized this war : relations within the Algerian society as well as between the fighters on the opposing sides. The study of the gestures, the way they were carried out, the actors, their eventual punishment and the consequences provides a more precise look on the logics what were at work in this war.