ABSTRACT
The Introduction presents the book’s context, puzzle, research question, chapter outline, aims and potential contributions as well as its scope. Against the background of a mixed legislative history, the International Criminal Courty’s (ICC) provisions on sexualised violence are praised as progressive. However, they interpret forced marriage in times of armed conflict as a form of sexual slavery and regressively define rape as an act of ‘invasion resulting in penetration’. Puzzled by these contradictions, this book analyses the process of defining war rape and forced marriage. Using a feminist and constructivist lens, it focuses on the key actors, their influences, their understandings of war rape and forced marriage, and on how they shaped the definitions. It is argued that state and non-state actors drove the ICC negotiations of the two crimes. Their understanding of war rape and forced marriage was influenced by international, national and personal normative structures. Key actors shaped the definition process through research and policy analysis, producing reports and proposals, lobbying, and through serving on state delegations. The aim and potential contribution of this research project is to deepen the understanding of the ICC negotiations of war rape and forced marriage. By analysing forced marriage in this context, it aims to raise awareness of the crime and hence to contribute towards a better understanding of it. The book also highlights relevant factors that need to be considered when criminalising sexualised war violence under international law, contributing to debates on the nature of international law-making.
