Sexual violence is widespread in many armed conflict contexts, and has detrimental consequences for the individuals and the communities that fall victim to it. The stories of the victims of horrific sexual abuses by armed forces have reached the ears of the world’s leaders, and the international community is now increasing the efforts to deal with this problem.
To better devise strategies to address the problem and install preventive measures, we need systematic knowledge about variations in where and when sexual violence occurs. This project maps sexual violence (including, but not limited to, rape) in conflict and post-conflict settings. Specifically, we will study the phenomenon of sexual violence in wars across a large sample of conflict contexts, and focus on who the perpetrators and victims are; why, when, and where sexual violence in war occurs – as well as where and when it does not occur.
The research has produced a database of sexual violence in armed conflict covering the years 1989-2009, published in Journal of Peace Research. See www.sexualviolencedata.org for more information.
Publications
Peer-reviewed Journal Article
Østby, Gudrun; Ragnhild Nordås & Siri Aas Rustad (2016) Does Artisanal Mining Increase the Risk of Sexual Violence? Micro-level evidence from Eastern Congo, Quality in Primary Care 24(2): 77–80.
Nordås, Ragnhild; Siri Aas Rustad & Gudrun Østby (2016) Artisanal mining, conflict, and sexual violence in Eastern DRC, The Extractive Industries and Society 3(2): 475–484.
Skjelsbæk, Inger (2015) The Military Perpetrator: A Narrative Analysis of Sentencing Judgments on Sexual Violence Offenders at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), Journal of Social and Political Psychology 3(1): 46–70.
Cohen, Dara Kay & Ragnhild Nordås (2014) Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict: Introducing the SVAC Dataset, 1989–2009, Journal of Peace Research 51(3): 418–428.
Skjelsbæk, Inger (2012) Responsibility to Protect or Prevent? Victims and Perpetrators of Sexual Violence Crimes in Armed Conflicts, Global Responsibility to Protect 4(2): 154–171.
Book Chapter
Rustad, Siri Aas & Ragnhild Nordås (2015) Assessing Sexual Exploitation and Abuse by Peacekeepers, in Olsson, Louise; & Theodora-Ismene Gizelis , eds, Gender, Peace and Security: Implementing UNSCR 1325. London: Taylor & Francis (138–162).
Nordås, Ragnhild & Lars Morten Bjørkholt (2014) Seksualisert vold i krig of konflikt [Sexualized violence in war and conflict], in Anita Schjølset, ed., Gender i Forsvaret. Oslo: Abstrakt Forlag (243–272).
Non-refereed Journal Article
Skjelsbæk, Inger (2013) Seksualisert vold i krig [Sexual violence in war], Speilvendt(2): 2–7.
Skjelsbæk, Inger (2013) "It's not small talk material" - om krig, fred, vold og forskning, Samtiden. Tidsskrift for politikk, litteratur og samfunnsspørsmål 3: 36–48.
Popular Article
Stanton, Jessica; Ragnhild Nordås & Dara Kay Cohen (2015) Governments don’t outsource atrocities to militias. Here’s what really happens., Washington Post - Monkey Cage, 22 December.
Nordås, Ragnhild; Dara Kay Cohen & Elisabeth J. Wood (2014) Four things everyone should know about wartime sexual violence, Washington Post - Monkey Cage, 9 June.
Skjelsbæk, Inger (2013) Soldaten som overgriper [The soldier as perpetrator], Forsvarets Forum, 1 December.
Nordås, Ragnhild (2012) Spekulasjoner om seksuell vold [Speculations on Sexual Violence], Dagsavisen, 16 November.
Master Thesis
(2016) Civilians under the Crossfire: A Comparative Case Study of Patterns of Lethal and Sexual Violence during the War in Bosnia 1992-1995. MA thesis, Department of Political Science, University of Oslo, Oslo.
PRIO Policy Brief
Nordås, Ragnhild (2013) Preventing Conflict-related Sexual Violence, PRIO Policy Brief, 2. Oslo: PRIO.
Skjelsbæk, Inger (2013) Preventing Perpetrators: How to go from protection to prevention of sexual violence in war?, PRIO Policy Brief, 3. Oslo: PRIO.
Nordås, Ragnhild (2012) Sexual Violence on the Decline? Recent debates and evidence suggest ‘unlikely’, CSCW Policy Brief, 3. Oslo: CSCW.
Nordås, Ragnhild & Dara Kay Cohen (2012) Sexual Violence by Militias in African Conflicts: Not a question of ‘delegation’ by states, CSCW Policy Brief, 1. Oslo: CSCW.
Nordås, Ragnhild & Dara Kay Cohen (2012) Sexual Violence in African Conflicts, 1989–2009: What the data show, CSCW Policy Brief, 2. Oslo: CSCW.
Nordås, Ragnhild (2011) Sexual Violence in African Conflicts, CSCW Policy Brief, 1. Oslo: PRIO.