Abstract
Sexual violence has likely been a feature of warfare throughout human history and may even have been present during prehistoric conflicts. In recent decades, international policymakers have improved efforts to prohibit and prosecute wartime sexual violence, including holding criminal tribunals for suspected perpetrators of wartime rape. Social scientists have offered a range of potential explanations for wartime rape and have attempted to bring the data on wartime rape under a single, unified theory. Many such theories have identified sociocultural factors such as patriarchal values, hostile attitudes toward women, or hatred toward specific ethnic groups as potential causes of wartime rape. We review the competing sociocultural theories of wartime rape citing evidence from evolutionary psychology, biology, and anthropology. We highlight strengths of the biosocial theory, which consider the influence of both social and biological factors on wartime rape, and enjoy strong theory-data fit. Specifically, we emphasize the ability of the biosocial theory to not only explain the existence of wartime rape as a near-universal phenomenon, but also its ability to explain variation in rates of wartime rape across armed conflicts.
Similar content being viewed by others
Availability of Data
N/A.
Code Availability
N/A.
References
Amowitz, L. L., Reis, C., Lyons, K. H., Vann, B., Mansaray, B., Akinsulure-Smith, A. M., ... & Iacopino, V. (2002). Prevalence of war-related sexual violence and other human rights abuses among internally displaced persons in Sierra Leone. Journal of the American Medical Association, 287(4), 513–521. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.287.4.513
Askin, K. D. (1997). War crimes against women: Prosecution in international war crimes tribunals. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.
Baaz, M. E., & Stern, M. (2009). Why do soldiers rape? Masculinity, violence, and sexuality in the armed forces in the Congo (DRC). International Studies Quarterly, 53(2), 495–518. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2478.2009.00543.x
Baker, R. R., & Bellis, M. A. (1995). Human sperm competition: Copulation, masturbation and infidelity. Chapman & Hall.
Barstow, A. L. (2000). War’s dirty secret: Rape, prostitution, and other crimes against women. The Pilgrim Press.
Bateman, A. J. (1948). Intra-sexual selection in Drosophila. Heredity, 2(3), 349–368.
Bateson, P. (1978). Sexual imprinting and optimal outbreeding. Nature, 273(5664), 659–660.
Bègue, L., Beauvois, J. L., Courbet, D., Oberlé, D., Lepage, J., & Duke, A. A. (2015). Personality predicts obedience in a Milgram paradigm. Journal of Personality, 83(3), 299–306. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12104
Benioff, D., Weiss, D. B., & Petrarca, D. (2012). The Ghost of Harrenhal (Season 2, Episode 5) [TV series episode]. In D. Benioff, F. Doelger, D.B. Weiss (Executive Producers), Game of Thrones. Home Box Office (HBO), Television 360, Grok! Television, Bighead Littlehead.
Betancourt, T. S., Newnham, E. A., McBain, R., & Brennan, R. T. (2013). Post-traumatic stress symptoms among former child soldiers in Sierra Leone: Follow-up study. British Journal of Psychiatry, 203(3), 196–202. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.112.113514
Bijleveld, C., & Hendriks, J. (2003). Juvenile sex offenders: Differences between group and solo offenders. Psychology, Crime and Law, 9(3), 237–245. https://doi.org/10.1080/1068316021000030568
Broude, G. J., & Greene, S. J. (1976). Cross-cultural codes on twenty sexual attitudes and practices. Ethnology, 15(4), 409–429. https://doi.org/10.2307/3773308
Brownmiller, S. (1975). Against our will: Men women and rape. Ballantine Books; Fawcett Columbine.
Buss, D. M. (1989). Sex differences in human mate preferences: Evolutionary hypotheses tested in 37 cultures. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 12(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X00023992
Buss, D. M. (2019). Evolutionary psychology: The new science of the mind (6th ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429061417
Buss, D. M., Haselton, M. G., Shackelford, T. K., Bleske, A. L., & Wakefield, J. C. (1998). Adaptations, exaptations, and spandrels. American Psychologist, 53(5), 533–548. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.53.5.533
Buss, D. M., & Schmitt, D. P. (1993). Sexual strategies theory: An evolutionary perspective on human mating. Psychological Review, 100(2), 204.
Castro, C. A., Kintzle, S., Schuyler, A. C., Lucas, C. L., & Warner, C. H. (2015). Sexual assault in the military. Current Psychiatry Reports, 17(54), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-015-0596-7
Chagnon, N. (1997). Yanomamo (5th ed.). Harcourt Brace.
Chagnon, N. A. (1988). Life histories, blood revenge, and warfare in a tribal population. Science, 239(4843), 985–992.
Chang, I. (1997). The rape of Nanking: The forgotten holocaust of World War II. Basic Books. http://hdl.handle.net/10822/898925
Cohen, D. K. (2016). Rape during civil war. Cornell University Press.
Cohen, D. K., & Nordås, R. (2014). Sexual violence in armed conflict: Introducing the SVAC dataset, 1989–2009. Journal of Peace Research, 51(3), 418–428. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022343314523028
Coleman, G. D. (2015). Pregnancy after rape. International Journal of Women’s Health & Wellness, 1(4), 1–4.
Darwin, C. (1964). On the origin of species: A facsimile of the First Edition. Harvard University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvjf9xp5
Darwin, C. (1871). The descent of man, and selection in relation to sex, Vol 1. John Murray. https://doi.org/10.1037/12293-000
De Brouwer, A. M. (2005). Supranational criminal prosecution of sexual violence: The ICC and the practice of the ICTY and the ICTR. (1st ed., Vol. 20). Intersentia.
Dunn, J. (2003). East Timor: A rough passage to independence (3rd ed.). Longueville Books.
Eberhard, W. (1996). Female control: Sexual selection by cryptic female choice. Princeton University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9780691207209
Fagot, B. I., Pears, K. C., Capaldi, D. M., Crosby, L., & Leve, C. S. (1998). Becoming an adolescent father: Precursors and parenting. Developmental Psychology, 34(6), 1209–1219. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.34.6.1209
Ferguson, R. B. (2000). The causes and origins of “primitive warfare”: On evolved motivations for war. Anthropological Quarterly, 73(3), 159–164.
Fisman, R., Iyengar, S. S., Kamenica, E., & Simonson, I. (2006). Gender differences in mate selection: Evidence from a speed dating experiment. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 121(2), 673–697. https://doi.org/10.1162/qjec.2006.121.2.673
Fukunaga, C. J. (2015). Beasts of no nation [Film]. Red Crown Productions.
Gat, A. (1999). The pattern of fighting in simple, small-scale, prestate societies. Journal of Anthropological Research, 55(4), 563–583.
Gharib, M. (2022). Fighting the horror of wartime rape, Nobel Peace Prize winner won’t give up hope. National Public Radio. Retrieved June 7, 2022. https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2022/05/18/1099537331/fighting-the-horror-of-wartime-rape-nobel-prize-peace-winner-wont-give-up-hope
Gidycz, C. A., & Koss, M. P. (1990). A comparison of group and individual sexual assault victims. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 14(3), 325–342. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.1990.tb00023.x
Glowacki, L., & Wrangham, R. (2015). Warfare and reproductive success in a tribal population. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(2), 348–353. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1412287112
Gottschall, J. (2004). Explaining wartime rape. Journal of Sex Research, 41(2), 129–136. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224490409552221
Gottschall, J. A., & Gottschall, T. A. (2003). Are per-incident rape pregnancy rates higher than per-incident consensual pregnancy rates? Human Nature, 14(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-003-1014-0
Gul, P., & Schuster, I. (2020). Judgments of marital rape as a function of honor culture, masculine reputation threat, and observer gender: A cross-cultural comparison between Turkey, Germany, and the UK. Aggressive Behavior, 46(4), 341–353. https://doi.org/10.1002/ab.21893
Gutman, R. (1993). Rape camps: Evidence Serb leaders in Bosnia ok’d attacks. Europe Correspondent (newsday)., 1(1), 3.
Harris, G. T., Lalumière, M. L., Seto, M. C., Rice, M. E., & Chaplin, T. C. (2012). Explaining the erectile responses of rapists to rape stories: The contributions of sexual activity, non-consent, and violence with injury. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 41(1), 221–229. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-012-9940-8
Harris, G. T., Rice, M. E., & Quinsey, V. L. (1994). Psychopathy as a taxon: Evidence that psychopaths are a discrete class. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 62(2), 387. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.62.2.387
Hayden, R. M. (2000). Rape and rape avoidance in ethno-national conflicts: Sexual violence in liminalized states. American Anthropologist, 102(1), 27–41. https://doi.org/10.1525/aa.2000.102.1.27
Heise, L. L., Moore, K., & Toubia, N. (1996). Defining “coercion” and “consent” cross-culturally. SIECUS Report, 24(2), 12–14.
Henry, N. (2016). Theorizing wartime rape: Deconstructing gender, sexuality, and violence. Gender & Society, 30(1), 44–56. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243215608780
Henson, M. R. (2016). Comfort woman: A Filipina’s story of prostitution and slavery under the Japanese military. Rowman & Littlefield.
Hitsch, G. J., Hortaçsu, A., & Ariely, D. (2010). Matching and sorting in online dating. American Economic Review, 100(1), 130–163. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.100.1.130
Holmes, M. M., Resnick, H. S., Kilpatrick, D. G., & Best, C. L. (1996). Rape-related pregnancy: Estimates and descriptive characteristics from a national sample of women. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 175(2), 320–325. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0002-9378(96)70141-2
Homer. (1955). Iliad. Dent.
Horvath, M., & Woodhams, J. (Eds.). (2013). Handbook on the study of multiple perpetrator rape: A multidisciplinary response to an international problem. Routledge.
Hosken, D. J., & House, C. M. (2011). Sexual selection. Current Biology, 21(2), R62–R65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2010.11.053
Hrdy, S. B. (1979). Infanticide among animals: a review, classification, and examination of the implications for the reproductive strategies of females. Ethology and Sociobiology, 1(1), 13–40. Retrieved June 7, 2022. https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b37f40.html
Hwang, J. J. (2023). The impact of individual differences and personality on obedience. Journal of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, 8, 1384–1389.
Jackson, J. J., Thoemmes, F., Jonkmann, K., Lüdtke, O., & Trautwein, U. (2012). Military training and personality trait development: Does the military make the man, or does the man make the military? Psychological Science, 23(3), 270–277. https://doi.org/10.1177/095679761142
Jefferson, L. R. (2004). In war as in peace: Sexual violence and women’s status. Human Rights Watch. https://www.refworld.org/reference/annualreport/hrw/2004/en/12163
Johnson, R. R. (2014). Rape and gender conflict in a patriarchal state. Crime & Delinquency, 60(7), 1110–1128. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011128713480656
Kamal, S. (1998). The 1971 genocide in Bangladesh and crimes committed against women. In I. L. Sajor (Ed.), Common grounds: Violence against women in war and armed convict situations (pp. 268–281). Ascent.
Keeley, L. H. (1996). War before civilization. Oxford University Press.
Kilpatrick, D. G. (1992). Rape in America: A report to the nation. National Victim Center.
King James Bible. (2017). King James Bible Online. Retrieved June 7, 2022. https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/. (Original work published 1769).
Koomen, J. (2013). “Without these women, the tribunal cannot do anything”: The politics of witness testimony on sexual violence at the international criminal tribunal for Rwanda. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 38(2), 253–277. https://doi.org/10.1086/667200
Krug, E. G., Mercy, J. A., Dahlberg, L. L., & Zwi, A. B. (2002). The world report on violence and health. World Health Organization. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(02)11133-0
Kruk, M. E., Rockers, P. C., Williams, E. H., Varpilah, S. T., Macauley, R., Saydee, G., & Galea, S. (2010). Availability of essential health services in post-conflict Liberia. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 88(7), 527–534. https://doi.org/10.2471/BLT.09.071068
Kurtz, M. M., & Diggs, M. T. (2015). Wartime rape: A case study of the Democratic Republic of Congo. In M. M. Kurtz & L. R. Kurtz (Eds.), Women, War, and Violence: Topography, Resistance, and Hope (1st ed., Vol. 1, pp. 183–200). Praeger.
Lalumière, M. L., Quinsey, V. L., Harris, G. T., Rice, M. E., & Trautrimas, C. (2003). Are rapists differentially aroused by coercive sex in phallometric assessments? Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 989(1), 211–224. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2003.tb07307.x
Lalumière, M. L., Harris, G. T., Quinsey, V. L., & Rice, M. E. (2005). The causes of rape: Understanding individual differences in the male propensity for sexual aggression. American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/10961-000
Lalumière, M. L., Chalmers, L. J., Quinsey, V. L., & Seto, M. C. (1996). A test of the mate deprivation hypothesis of sexual coercion. Ethology and Sociobiology, 17(5), 299–318. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0162-3095(96)00076-3
Lalumiere, M. L., & Quinsey, V. L. (1996). Sexual deviance, antisociality, mating effort, and the se of sexually coercive behaviors. Personality and Individual Differences, 21(1), 33–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/0191-8869(96)00059-1
Leiby, M. (2012). The promise and peril of primary documents: Documenting wartime sexual violence in El Salvador and Peru. In M. Bergsmo, A. Butenschon, & E. J. Woods (Eds.), Understanding and Proving International Sex Crimes (pp. 315–366). Forum for International Criminal and Humanitarian Law.
Lerner, G. (1987). The creation of patriarchy, 1986. Oxford University Press.
Levy, J. S. (1998). The causes of war and the conditions of peace. Annual Review of Political Science, 1(1), 139–165.
MacKinnon, C. (1994). Turning rape into pornography: Postmodern genocide. In A. Stiglmayer (Ed.), Mass rape: The war against women in Bosnia-Herzegovina, (pp. 73–81). University of Nebraska Press.
Malamuth, N. M., & Thornhill, N. W. (1994). Hostile masculinity, sexual aggresion, and gender-biased domineeringness in conversations. Aggressive Behavior, 20(3), 185–193.
Manjoo, R., & McRaith, C. (2011). Gender-based violence and justice in conflict and post-conflict areas. Cornell International Law Journal, 44, 11–31.
Manson, J. H., Wrangham, R. W., Boone, J. L., Chapais, B., Dunbar, R. I. M., Ember, C. R., ... & Worthman, C. M. (1991). Intergroup aggression in chimpanzees and humans [and comments and replies]. Current Anthropology, 32(4), 369–390. https://doi.org/10.1086/203974
Mathes, E. W., & Kahn, A. (1975). Diffusion of responsibility and extreme behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 31(5), 881–886. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0076695
McKibbin, W. F., Shackelford, T. K., Goetz, A. T., Bates, V. M., Starratt, V. G., & Miner, E. J. (2009). Development and initial psychometric assessment of the rape avoidance inventory. Personality and Individual Differences, 46(3), 336–340. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2008.10.026
McKibbin, W. F., Shackelford, T. K., Goetz, A. T., & Starratt, V. G. (2008). Why do men rape? An evolutionary psychological perspective. Review of General Psychology, 12(1), 86–97. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.12.1.86
McKibbin, W. F., Shackelford, T. K., Miner, E. J., Bates, V. M., & Liddle, J. R. (2011). Individual differences in women’s rape avoidance behaviors. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 40(2), 343–349. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-010-9627-y
Military OneSource. (2018). 2018 demographics report: Profile of the military community. U.S. Department of Defense. Retrieved June 7, 2022. https://download.militaryonesource.mil/12038/MOS/Reports/2018-demographics-report.pdf
Mischkowski, G., & Mlinarević, G. (2009). “And that it does not happen to anyone anywhere in the world”: The trouble with rape trials–views of witnesses, prosecutors and judges on prosecuting sexualised violence during the war in the former Yugoslavia. Medica Mondiale.
Morris, M. (2000). In war and peace: Rape, war, and military culture. In A. Barstow (Ed.), War’s dirty secret: Rape, Prostitution and Other Crimes Against Women (pp. 167–203). Pilgrim Press.
Mulligan, C. B., & Shleifer, A. (2005). Conscription as regulation. American Law and Economics Review, 7(1), 85–111. https://doi.org/10.1093/aler/ahi009
Nordås, R., & Cohen, D. K. (2021). Conflict-related sexual violence. Annual Review of Political Science, 24, 193–211. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-polisci-041719-102620
Ouimette, P. C., & Riggs, D. (1998). Testing a mediational model of sexually aggressive behavior in nonincarcerated perpetrators. Violence and Victims, 13(2), 117–130. https://doi.org/10.1891/0886-6708.13.2.117
Palmer, C. (1989). Is rape a cultural universal? A re-examination of the ethnographic data. Ethnology, 28(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.2307/3773639
Perilloux, C. (2014). (Mis)reading the signs: Men’s perception of women’s sexual interest. In V. A. Weekes-Shackelford & T. K. Shackelford (Eds.), Evolutionary perspectives on human sexual psychology and behavior (pp. 119–133). Springer.
Peters, K., & Richards, P. (1998). ‘Why we fight’: Voices of youth combatants in Sierra Leone. Africa, 68(2), 183–210. https://doi.org/10.2307/1161278
Pinker, S. (1997). How the mind works. Norton.
Plümper, T., & Neumayer, E. (2006). The unequal burden of war: The effect of armed conflict on the gender gap in life expectancy. International Organization, 60(3), 723–754. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020818306060231
Prokop, P. (2013). Rape avoidance behavior among Slovak women. Evolutionary Psychology, 11(2), 365–382. https://doi.org/10.1177/147470491301100207
Quinsey, V. L., & Chaplin, T. C. (1984). Stimulus control of rapists’ and non-sex offenders’ sexual arousal. Behavioral Assessment, 6(2), 169–176.
Rowan, Z. R., Kan, E., Frick, P. J., & Cauffman, E. (2022). Not (entirely) guilty: The role of co-offenders in diffusing responsibility for crime. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 59(4), 415–448. https://doi.org/10.1177/00224278211046256
Rozée, P. D. (1993). Forbidden or forgiven? Rape in cross-cultural perspective. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 17(4), 499–514. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.1993.tb00658.x
Russell, D. E. (1990). Rape in marriage. Indiana University Press.
Sai, N. (2012). Conflict Profiles: Rwanda. Women Under Siege, Retrieved June 7, 2022. http://www.womenundersiegeproject.org/conflicts/profile/rwanda
Seifert, R. (1996). The second front: The logic of sexual violence in wars. Women’s Studies International Forum, 19, 35–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/0277-5395(95)00078-X
Seto, M. C., & Barbaree, H. E. (1993). Victim blame and sexual arousal to rape cues in rapists and nonoffenders. Annals of Sex Research, 6(3), 167–183. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00849559
Shields, W. M., & Shields, L. M. (1983). Forcible rape: An evolutionary perspective. Ethology and Sociobiology, 4(3), 115–136. https://doi.org/10.1016/0162-3095(83)90026-2
Siefert, R. (1994). War and rape: A preliminary analysis. In A. Stiglmayer (Ed.), Mass rape: The war against women in Bosnia-Herzigovina (pp. 54–72). University of Nebraska Press.
Sinozich, S., & Langton, L. (2014). Rape and sexual assault among college-age females, 1995–2013. U.S. Department of Justice.
Smith, S. G., Zhang, X., Basile, K. C., Merrick, M. T., Wang, J., Kresnow, M. J., & Chen, J. (2018). The national intimate partner and sexual violence survey: 2015 data brief–updated release. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Retrieved June 7, 2022. https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/60893
Smith, D. L. (2011). Less than human: Why we demean, enslave, and exterminate others. Martin’s Press.
Sprecher, S., Sullivan, Q., & Hatfield, E. (1994). Mate selection preferences: Gender differences examined in a national sample. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66(6), 1074. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.66.6.1074. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/
Statista. (2021). Number of reported forcible rape cases in the United States from 1990 to 2020 [Infographic]. Statista. Retrieved June 7, 2022. https://www.statista.com/statistics/191137/reported-forcible-rape-cases-in-the-usa-since-1990/
Symons, D. (1979). The evolution of human sexuality. Oxford University Press.
Tan, J. (2017). Power and public finance at Rome, 264–49 BCE. Oxford University Press.
Thornhill, N. W., & Thornhill, R. (1990a). An evolutionary analysis of psychological pain following rape: I. The effects of victim’s age and marital status. Ethology and Sociobiology, 11(3), 155–176. https://doi.org/10.1016/0162-3095(90)90008-T
Thornhill, N. W., & Thornhill, R. (1990b). An evolutionary analysis of psychological pain following rape: II. The effects of stranger, friend, and family-member offenders. Ethology and Sociobiology, 11(3), 177–193. https://doi.org/10.1016/0162-3095(90)90009-U
Thornhill, N. W., & Thornhill, R. (1990c). An evolutionary analysis of psychological pain following rape. III: Effects of force and violence. Aggressive Behavior, 16(5), 297–320. https://doi.org/10.1002/1098-2337(1990)16:5297::AID-AB2480160503>3.0.CO;2-V
Thornhill, N. W., & Thornhill, R. (1991). An evolutionary analysis of psychological pain following human (Homo sapiens) rape: IV. The effect of the nature of the sexual assault. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 105(3), 243–252. https://doi.org/10.1037/0735-7036.105.3.243
Thornhill, R., & Palmer, C. T. (2000). A natural history of rape. The MIT Press.
Thornhill, R., & Thornhill, N. W. (1983). Human rape: An evolutionary analysis. Ethology and Sociobiology, 4(3), 137–173. https://doi.org/10.1016/0162-3095(83)90027-4
Thornhill, R., & Thornhill, N. W. (1992). The evolutionary psychology of men’s coercive sexuality. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 15(2), 363–375. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X00069120
Travis, C. B. (2003). Evolution, gender, and rape. The MIT Press.
Trivers, R. L. (1972). Parental investment and sexual selection. In B. Campbell (Ed.), Sexual selection and the descent of man (pp. 136–179). Aldine.
UN General Assembly. (2010). Rome statute of the international criminal court. International Criminal Court. United Nations. Retrieved June 7, 2022. https://www.icc-cpi.int/resource-library/Pages/core-legal-texts.aspx
United States Department of State. (1980–2012). U.S. State Department Human Rights Reports. United States Department of State. Retrieved June 7, 2022. https://www.loc.gov/item/lcwaN0004260/
Vikman, E. (2005). Ancient origins: Sexual violence in warfare, part I. Anthropology & Medicine, 12(1), 21–31. https://doi.org/10.1080/13648470500049826
Walker, R. S., & Bailey, D. H. (2013). Body counts in lowland South American violence. Evolution and Human Behavior, 34(1), 29–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2012.08.003
Ward, C. A., & Inserto, F. (1990). Victims of sexual violence: A handbook for helpers. Singapore University Press.
Watson, G. R. (1956). The pay of the Roman army. Suetonius, Dio and the quartum stipendium. Historia: Zeitschrift Für Alte Geschichte, 5(3), 332–340. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4434496
Watts, D., & Mitani, J. (2001). Boundary patrols and intergroup encounters in wild chimpanzees. Behaviour, 138(3), 299–327. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4535825
Watts, D. P., Muller, M., Amsler, S. J., Mbabazi, G., & Mitani, J. C. (2006). Lethal intergroup aggression by chimpanzees in Kibale National Park. Uganda. American Journal of Primatology, 68(2), 161–180. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.20214
Williams, G. C. (1966). Natural selection, the costs of reproduction, and a refinement of Lack’s principle. The American Naturalist, 100(916), 687–690. https://doi.org/10.1086/282461
Wilson, M., & Daly, M. (1985). Competitiveness, risk taking, and violence: The young male syndrome. Ethology and Sociobiology, 6(1), 59–73. https://doi.org/10.1016/0162-3095(85)90041-X
Wolitzky-Taylor, K. B., Resnick, H. S., McCauley, J. L., Amstadter, A. B., Kilpatrick, D. G., & Ruggiero, K. J. (2011). Is reporting of rape on the rise? A comparison of women with reported versus unreported rape experiences in the National Women’s Study-Replication. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 26(4), 807–832. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260510365869
Funding
The authors declare that no funds, grants, or other support were received during the preparation of this manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Gavin Vance developed the first draft of this manuscript. All other authors contributed equally by providing feedback and helping to edit/revise subsequent drafts of the manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethical Approval
This paper did not involve the collection of data from participants.
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare no competing interests.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Vance, G.S., Zeigler-Hill, V., Vonk, J. et al. Inevitable or Preventable? The Biosocial Theory of Wartime Rape. Evolutionary Psychological Science (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40806-024-00387-2
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40806-024-00387-2