ABSTRACT

This article looks at practices of sexual violence that were prevalent during the period before the conflict in 1996 in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and shows how they have contributed to war-related sexual violence. The findings are based on 30 semi-structured interviews with men and women who directly or indirectly witnessed sexual violence in South Kivu province prior to the 1996 war. The findings suggest that prior to its use as a weapon of war in armed conflicts, sexual violence was already embedded in gender norms that regard women as subordinate to men and in the traditional perception of masculinity. Although sexual violence may have been less prevalent before the war, it was nonetheless perpetrated as a tactic for coercing marriage, correcting and punishing women, and sexual gratification. This article argues that in addition to ending armed conflicts, anti-sexual violence interventions have to take into account the sociocultural factors underlying this phenomenon and promote gender equality and justice.

摘要

本文着眼于 1996 年冲突前在刚果民主共和国 (DRC) 东部流行的性暴力行为，并展示了它们如何助长了与战争有关的性暴力。调查结果基于对 1996 年战争前在南基伍省直接或间接目睹性暴力的男性和女性进行的 30 次半结构化访谈。调查结果表明，在将性暴力用作武装冲突中的战争武器之前，性暴力已经嵌入到认为女性从属于男性的性别规范和传统的男子气概中。虽然性暴力在战前可能不那么普遍，但它仍然是作为强迫婚姻、纠正和惩罚女性以及性满足的策略而实施的。