ABSTRACT
There is a growing recognition that the human rights abuses which occur in the context of civil conflicts pose special threats to the health and lives of women (MacKinnon, 1993). In addition to the rights violations suffered by civilians in general, additional threats specific to women and girls include rape and its consequences of unwanted pregnancies, sexual violence, and, in some conflicts and regions, increased vulnerability to trafficking into prostitution (Carballo, Grocutt, & Hadzihasanovic, 1996; Beyrer, 1998a-c). The Bosnian War of the 1990s made clear to the medical and human rights communities the devastating extent of rights violations targeting women; an estimated 30,000 unwanted pregnancies, the result of systematic rapes, were documented in Bosnia (MacKinnon, 1993; Kozaric-Kovacic, Folnegovic-Smalc, Skrinjaric, Szajnberg, & Marusic, 1995). In addition to unwanted pregnancy,
Tel: + 1-410-614-5247; fax: +1-410-955-1836. E-mail address: cbeyrer@jhsph.edu (C. Beyrer).
