Sexual Abuses as Wartime Crimes against Women and Children: The Case of Liberia

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Periodical article

Title:	Sexual Abuses as Wartime Crimes against Women and Children: The Case of Liberia
Author:	Lucas, Emma T.
Year:	1997
Periodical:	Liberian Studies Journal
Volume:	22
Issue:	2
Pages:	240-260
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Liberia
Subjects:	ethnicity war crimes sexual offences child abuse Women's Issues Law, Human Rights and Violence Law, Legal Issues, and Human Rights Ethnic and Race Relations Women and Their Children
Abstract:	During Liberia's civil war, women and children were subjected to sexual violence at the hands of warring factions. The author examines the role of ethnic identities during the Liberian conflict in order to understand the attitudes of warring factions toward the enemy and the rage to commit sexually violent acts. Following an analysis of the early ethnic interactions that identified ethnic differences and later intensified ethnic tensions, notably between the Americo-Liberians and the indigenous people, the author discusses the linkages between ethnic tensions, soldier mentality, and sexual abuse as a wartime weapon against women and children during the civil war. Finally, she stresses the need for international intervention in the form of greater recognition of human rights abuses and consideration of subsequent legal sanctions against these offences. Bibliogr.