How Social Norms Shape the Long-Term Consequences of War Rape: A Mixed-Method Qualitative Exploration

• Published in: Peace and conflict 2024-08, Vol.30 (3), p.338-349
• Main Authors: Shala, Ardiana, Këllezi, Blerina, Wakefield, Juliet R. H., Stevenson, Clifford
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Female; Gender Violence; Human; Justice; Rape; Self-Preservation; Social Norms; Survivors; War
• ISSN: 1078-1919; 1532-7949
• DOI: 10.1037/pac0000720

Rape is widely used as a weapon of war. Despite its prevalence and impact, war rape is rarely reported, partly because it is perceived as norm violating in the patriarchal societies within which it often purposely occurs (e.g., by violating the norm that women should remain chaste), leading to survivors being excluded from their families and communities. While this exclusion is well-documented in the immediate aftermath of war, little is known about its long-term effects on survivors, the strategies survivors use to overcome these effects, or the extent to which these effects and strategies are determined by societal norms and societal discourses. The present article addresses these gaps via two studies, focusing on rape that occurred during the Kosova War in 1998-1999. Study 1 analyzed the accounts of war-rape survivors (N = 18), showing that societal stigma associated with war rape had long-term negative effects on survivors' lives and that survivors' coping strategies involved focusing on other valued social norms and identities (e.g., motherhood) to reframe their self-image and enhance their self-worth. Study 2 analyzed Kosova's political parliamentary debates on legal recognition of war-rape survivors as war victims using a critical discursive approach. Analysis identified gendered discourses of victimhood and motherhood, which serve to rhetorically undermine women's agency, resilience, and independence. These arguments were used to legitimize the injustices that survivors endured. Findings from both studies suggest that wider societal gendered discriminatory practices have impacted survivors' experiences of war rape. Implications for theory and practice are discussed. Public Significance Statement The present study evidences the long-term impact of war rape and the strategies used by survivors to cope with and overcome the stigma associated with it. While survivors rely on their social identities to make sense and overcome the challenges they face, they also pay close attention to public discourses on war rape. This study illustrates how public discourses, such as parliamentary debates, can further contribute to societal discriminatory gender practices.