Sexual violence is used as a weapon during armed struggles: A study by Punjabi University

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Sexual violence is used as a weapon during armed struggles: A study by Punjabi University

Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in News/ January 21,2024

A study at Punjabi University has been done with reference to international law about how sexual violence is used as a weapon during armed wars in all around the world and its consequences. Through this research work conducted by researcher Ritu in the Law Department of the University, supervised by Dr. Sukhdarshan Singh Khehra has studied the trends, conclusions and possible preventive measures of this phenomenon.

Ritu said that since ancient times, humanity has been facing the dangers of wars. Widespread sexual violence is too frequent in conflict situations. She said that this sexual violence is always used to humiliate and instill fear in women, children, and men, which happens at different levels affecting their emotions, gender and power.

During displacement or resettlement of populations in war-torn areas, homes, military shelters, refugee camps, hospitals, religious places or many other such environments become unsafe. She said that actually it comprises different types of violence like genocide, oppression, and violation of human rights. This form of violence is often used as a weapon for incitement related to terrorism and organized violent crime. She said that the surprising thing in this regard is that it is not only rape out of control, but very often these are also rapes under regular orders, which is often used as a strategic weapon to achieve military, political or economic objectives. Sometimes, it is used as an opportunistic weapon. Thus, the protection of such victims of armed conflicts has become a matter of grave concern which has led to the establishment of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

She said that this type of sexual violence presents its own unique challenges, one of which is that it goes largely unreported because of the feelings of guilt and shame and Even if a report is made, factors like lack of readily available evidence, lack of forensic or other documentary evidence become obstacles in the way of justice. As a result of all this, there is a tendency to dismiss sexual violence as merely an unavoidable phenomenon.

Dr. Sukhdarshan Singh Khaira said that the latest study is an attempt to pinpoint the basic environment responsible for the prevalence of such phenomena. Through this study, sexual violence during armed conflicts and the contextual factors associated with its prevalence have been analysed. The special needs of women and girls who are victims of such exploitation have been assessed. Similarly, the conditions of war and the special situation of children born out of war have been analysed. He said that this study was also an attempt to examine the scope and effectiveness of special programs related to war-related sexual violence. The study attempts to explore how such special programs can make warring parties responsible for sparing individuals who are not complicit in hostilities.

Sexual violence is used as a weapon during armed struggles: A study by Punjabi University. Vice-Chancellor Prof. Arvind, congratulating for this research, said that it is important in itself to do such research for the welfare of the entire humanity by going beyond the boundaries of a particular geographical region. This also shows Punjabi University’s commitment to humanity and adds to the prestige of the institution.