Abstract
In re-examining our data, we had a ‘lightbulb’ moment when we realised that men in positions of authority used the term ‘Only Rape’ to describe the sexual abuse of refugee women and girls. Realising that we needed more than political analysis of what we were observing, we employed critical analysis, including discourse and feminist analysis and the theory of structuration to further investigate our findings. Finding that the systematised rape of women was not considered a form of torture, nor grounds for refugee status really shocked us. We joined an international advocacy movement to fight to have rape in conflict situations declared a war crime at the Fourth World Conference on women to be held in Beijing in 1995. It was a hard and at times a very nasty fight. We describe the complex advocacy strategy that was developed as we worked with non-government agencies in Australia, across the Asia-Pacific Region, at the United Nations and in Beijing. Southern feminism, applied human rights and diplomatic skills were woven together by an incredible network of activists to achieve our aims.
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Notes
- 1.
We have endeavored to use anti-oppressive language wherever possible, preferring the term gender-silent over gender-blindness; however, we present quotes from earlier years in their original form.
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Pittaway, E., Bartolomei, L.A. (2023). Rape as a War Crime: The Road to the 4th World Conference, Beijing 1993‒1995. In: Only Rape! Human Rights and Gender Equality for Refugee Women . Sustainable Development Goals Series. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-0916-0_4
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