From stigma to support: the international framework for children born of wartime rape

Abstract

This thesis aims to understand the role of the international community in the protection of children born of wartime rape (CBOW), the gaps in these protections, the difficulties and risks they experience, the existing solutions and means of protection and those that should exist. For a long time invisible, CBOW deserve to have their rights protected and defended like any other children. In order to effectively analyze this topic, this study begins by analyzing the phenomenon at the root of the problem: conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV). The way in which classical theories are no longer sufficient to understand the problem and view, the need to add other factors to the analysis of what really drives CRSV: the influence of armed organizations and different patterns of violence. Throughout the holistic and interdisciplinary approach adopted in this study, we have acknowledged some developments that deserve recognition in filling some of the protection gaps of CBOW, but we are forced to conclude that there is still a lot to be done to ensure that these children are treated as children, entitled to their rights.