 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Sarah Raskin, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, 670 Waldo St., Atlanta, GA 30312, 404-808-9328, seraski@sph.emory.edu
methods, results or outcomes, and conclusions or implications) Sexual violence has been used as a tool of war throughout time. It has been an effective method of terrorizing communities, as well as a strategic repopulation companion to “ethnic cleansing.” Conflict-based sexual violence has been well-documented – artistic media have fêted the Roman rape of the Sabine women for centuries – however critical response to this violation has evolved only in the last sixty years. Although sexual violence is outlined as a war crime in international governing documents including the Geneva Conventions and the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the ongoing International Criminal Tribunal on the Former Yugoslavia marks the first time acts of sexual violence in war have been prosecuted. This poster presentation reviews the short documented history of conflict-based sexual assault, utilizing three African conflicts as case studies. Only one of these conflicts, Rwanda, is the current subject of prosecutable war crimes including sexual violence. Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and the Democratic Republic of Congo also embody a critical convergence for negative health effects among survivors of conflict-based sexual violence; high HIV prevalence, coupled with low serostatus knowledge, may make conflict-based sexual violence a unique vector for HIV transmission along national and ethnic lines. Appropriate to their philosophies and origins, the Human Rights and Humanitarian movements have responded differently to the topic of conflict-based sexual violence. This poster presentation will highlight the differences and similarities between the two responses, including services to survivors, punitive recommendations, and policy implications.
Learning Objectives:
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.