Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book examines some of the major developments over the last two decades in the international prosecution of rape and sexual violence. During and immediately after the 1992-1995 Bosnian war, there was huge interest in 'raped women'. Feminist scholars have been at the forefront of research on rape and sexual violence. According to some feminist scholars, the international attention that is now being given to rape and sexual violence in conflict unduly detracts from other forms of gender-based violence in warfare. When feminists write about rape and sexual violence, they are primarily concerned with male-on-female violence. Such violence, in turn, is commonly framed as reflecting and manifesting wider forms of structural violence against women. In Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH), there has been a strong emphasis on criminal prosecutions.