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Study challenges assumptions on wartime sexual violence

Date:
October 10, 2012
Source:
Simon Fraser University
Summary:
A new study finds that there is no compelling evidence to support a host of widely held beliefs regarding wartime sexual violence.
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A new study by the Simon Fraser University-based Human Security Report Project (HSRP), released October 10 at the United Nations headquarters in New York, finds that there is no compelling evidence to support a host of widely held beliefs regarding wartime sexual violence.

The study, presented by HSRP director Andrew Mack, disputes the common assumption that conflict-related sexual violence is on the rise, and argues that the experience of a small number of countries afflicted by extreme levels of sexual violence is not the norm for all war-affected countries.

Key findings include:

  • In more than half of the years in which countries around the world experienced conflict between 2000-2009, levels of reported conflict-related sexual violence were low to negligible.
  • There is no evidence to support frequent claims that rape as a "weapon of war" is widespread, nor that its incidence has been growing.
  • Domestic sexual violence victimizes far more women in war-affected countries than does the conflict-related sexual violence that is perpetrated by combatants.
  • Recent studies show that male victims and female perpetrators may be more numerous than generally believed.
  • The study also finds that the mainstream view of the impact of war on children's education as highly damaging is incorrect, and that educational outcomes in war-affected countries improve over time despite fighting, even in regions most affected by war.

Report: http://hsrgroup.org/docs/Publications/HSR2012/2012HumanSecurityReport-FullText.pdf


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Materials provided by Simon Fraser University. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


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Simon Fraser University. "Study challenges assumptions on wartime sexual violence." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 10 October 2012. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121010151424.htm>.
Simon Fraser University. (2012, October 10). Study challenges assumptions on wartime sexual violence. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 28, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121010151424.htm
Simon Fraser University. "Study challenges assumptions on wartime sexual violence." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121010151424.htm (accessed March 28, 2024).

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