Description
Over the past two decades, scholarly research and policy attention on conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) has grown steadily. While there is a strong foundation of research on female victims of CRSV, research on male victims continues to lag behind. Male vulnerability is still largely equated with front-line soldiers and perceived as reflecting those in active conflict. Although sexual violence has been recognised in the international agenda, it is associated with female suffering. UN resolution 1325 (2000), widely lauded as bringing gender-based violence into the mainstream UN agenda, only mentions female victims.
This paper examines the gendered dynamics of conflict through the lenses of international policy and law, asking what provisions there are for male victims of sexual violence under the UN agenda. Through a comprehensive content analysis of UN resolutions and associated documents related to gender from 1325 onwards, this paper explores the gendered interpretations of sexual violence. Overall, the paper examines the structural issues that male victims and survivors of sexual violence face in achieving justice and recognition for what they suffered. It finds that while recognition of men as victims of sexual violence has shifted in a positive direction, there remains a long way to go if men are to be perceived as victims of sexual violence in the international, UN-led framework.
