The Use of Rape as a Weapon of War

Passionate Cry From the Heart

In a passionate cri de coeur in the Huffington Post, Eve Ensler and Stephen Lewis have drawn our attention to rampant use of rape in the escalation of the ongoing conflict in the DRC (Congo).   We have heard about the hundreds of thousands (mostly women) fleeing the fighting  there.  We have not heard, until now, the reason so many are running-to escape rape. The level of sexual violence there is so extreme that Ensler and Lewis  are calling it femicide.

Rape as War Strategy

There’s nothing new about rape in war which has been  going on since the beginning of time. What is different now is the use of rape as strategy, it’s deliberate employment, along with the use of guns and by armed men, to achieve their goals in warfare.  Consider the impulse to attack, to hurt other people or to make them pay for perceived injustices. How can one  inflict injury?

•             Physical assault
•             Knives/spears/swords
•             Burning/fires
•             Rape/sexual violence/enslavement
•             Guns/grenades/rocket launchers
•             Bombs/landmines/nuclear bombs
•             Verbal violence

Rape Is Easy and Convenient

A lot of these methods require that you take a huge risk to your own safety or they may require great skill in their use.  They may be distasteful or require a lot of money or technology  to set up.  In places in the world where there is great poverty or powerlessness, there is one way to feel powerful fast-rape. Crimes against women are easy because women are there.  Men can easily overpower women and “take them” and prove how powerful they are.  Men have always been in thrall to women because of their  lust for them. In the heat of war, it’s easy to turn pent up rage against women. It’s convenient and easy.

I used to imagine what would happen if the world suddenly outlawed guns and gun trafficking.  The numbers of murders and deaths from gun violence would decrease overnight.  However  in a flash people would find other creative ways to hurt each other and the murder rate would climb back up!

Just Say No to Rape?

If we wanted to stop rape and sexual violence in wartime how could that be done?  Ensler and Lewis suggest that rape be treated  with gravity, and insist, during negotiations, that it be stopped.  Rape could be declared a war crime.  It is really about society saying no and saying it very loudly for all the world to hear.  This means that the men of the world need to say no to the other men of the world, that this behavior will no longer be tolerated.

Ultimately Stopping the Use of All Weapons

The real challenge to humankind however, is ultimately stopping the use of all weapons.   As long as human beings live in fear of each other, we will always find reasons to hurt each other. Locating that fear inside oneself , finding freedom and empowering oneself, is the ultimate liberation.

Finding Fear and Violence Inside Ourselves

As long as anyone kills, wounds, or rapes others that person will never live in peace and happiness .   He will always be a prisoner of his violence until he takes responsibility for it. There is no room for arrogance here. Every one of us has wounded and hurt other people on some level and everyone one of us has to be responsible for his/her violence, however large or small.  We must call our fellow human beings to account for these behaviors-so that every single one of us can live in joy and freedom.   

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