Children enjoy special protection from the harms of armed conflict under international humanitarian law. While the protection of children in armed conflict has been widely researched with regard to recruitment and use of children in armed conflict, the research on protection of children from sexual violence has received less attention. In this paper I look at the protection of children in relation to sexual violence under international humanitarian law and its actualisation in the practise of international criminal courts and tribunals. I consider first how the protection of children from sexual violence under international humanitarian law made its way to Conventions. Second, I explore the case law of sexual violence as a war crime in international courts and tribunals and how the special protection of children is reflected in the case law. I argue that despite a gradual improvement, the provisions of the Conventions have not been recognised particularly well. While there have been cases in which more attention has been paid to sexual violence against children, the practice is mostly incoherent and sporadic: there exists a discrepancy between the Conventions, and the practice of international criminal courts and tribunals.

根据国际人道主义法，儿童享有特殊保护，免受武装冲突的伤害。虽然在招募和使用武装冲突中的儿童方面对武装冲突中的儿童保护进行了广泛的研究，但有关保护儿童免遭性暴力的研究却很少受到关注。在本文中，我着眼于根据国际人道主义法保护与性暴力有关的儿童及其在国际刑事法院和法庭实践中的实现。我首先考虑如何根据国际人道主义法保护儿童免受性暴力侵害，从而使之成为公约。其次，我探讨了在国际法院和法庭上将性暴力作为战争罪的判例法，以及如何在判例法中体现对儿童的特殊保护。我认为，尽管逐步改进，但公约的规定并未得到特别好的承认。虽然在某些情况下，人们更加关注针对儿童的性暴力行为，但这种做法大多是不连贯和零星的：《公约》与国际刑事法院和法庭的做法之间存在差异。