Thematic Issue: Perpetrator Focus

Watch the interview with Congolese perpetrators of CRSV to hear why they committed CRSV (“Congo soldiers explain why they rape”):

Factors that influenced them to commit CRSV include orders from their superiors as well as superstitious or religious reasons. Conversely, many of the men interviewed also expressed that they would kill a man who would rape their sister or mother.

Watch, subsequently, the Tedx Talks video named “Changing the conversation around sexual violence”, in which Keith Edwards (a social justice educator) explains that rape culture is a cultural and structural problem in peace time (that intensifies during armed conflict). Therefore, to end sexual violence, prevention is a key step. Prevention involves understanding who perpetrates sexual violence and how we can reach them, and the cultural roots of such behavior. Although the video is about sexual violence in peace time, it has lessons for sexual violence in conflict too. 

Finally, watch the video “Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict”, an interview with LaShawn Jefferson (a legal practitioner in the field of women’s human rights). She discusses, amongst other things, the necessity of focusing on preventative measures, calling for deeper examination of how women are viewed within society, and progress as related to changing the treatment of women during peace time.