ABSTRACT
A gendered analysis is essential in understanding the experience and impact of the Kosova War. This is even more critical in the analysis of culturally and gendered meaningful events such as war rape. War rape is a sexual gender-based violence (SGBV) systematically used in war as an effective form of violence, which has been the case of the war in Kosova in 1998–1999, where an estimated 20,000 persons experienced SGBV. Even two decades after the war, most survivors have not spoken publicly about their experience or been able to seek support and justice in the aftermath. One exception is the 2014 Law Amendment, which recognised the right of survivors to apply for formal recognition as civilian war victims. In this chapter, we discuss the negative impact that war rape had on the lives of survivors prior to the law amendment, the meaning of the law amendment and the application process for the recognition of their status as civilian war victims. We also analyse the political discourses around the law amendment to identify strategies used to provide and/or deny support, justice and recognition for survivors.
