Rape and HIV as Methods of Waging War: Epidemiological Criminology’s Response

Ishita Chowdhury, Mark M. Lanier

University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, USA.

DOI: 10.4236/aasoci.2012.21006                

Abstract

Rape is normally committed, examined and conceptualized as an act committed by an individual and is explained as an act of power and control over the victims. Rape is less often examined from the context of group behavior and as a function of group dynamics. In wartime, rape has historically been associated with “spoils of war” and rape has only recently been used a tactical weapon of war. One tactical objective of rape is to demoralize populations and a more sinister objective is to promote slow genocide when systematic rape is coupled with high rates of HIV infection such as is found in much of continental Africa. We provide an integrative theoretical response, Epidemiological Criminology, and specific policy suggestions to combat this crime.

Keywords

HIV; AIDS; Rape; War; Epidemiological Criminology; Genocide

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	African News. (2008). Uganda sets up crimes tribunals for rebels. http://www.polity.org.za/article/uganda-sets-up-war-crimes-tribunal-for-rebels-2008-05-28
[2]	African Union. (2008). Rwanda: The preventable genocide—International Panel of Eminent Personalities. http://www.visiontv.ca/old/RememberRwanda/Report.pdf
[3]	Aho, J., & Aho, K. (2009). Body matters: A phenomenology of sickness, disease, and illness. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.
[4]	Akers, T., & Lanier, M. M. (2009) Epidemiological criminology: Coming full circle. American Journal of Public Health, 99, 397-402. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2008.139808
[5]	Barak, G. (1994). Varieties of criminology. Westport, CT: Praegar.
[6]	Barak, G. (1998). Integrating criminologies. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
[7]	Bezuidenhout, C., & Lanier, M. M. (2010). The impact of violent crime on the RSA psyche, criminal justice system and society: Intervention based on epidemiological criminology. Acta Criminologica, under review.
[8]	Chelala, C. (2004). Rape during conflict becoming genocidal in countries with high HIV/AIDS prevalence. URL. http://speakout.org.za/about/types/type_rape_during_conflict.htm
[9]	Chelala, C. (2005). Rape as a weapon of war: It persists in Africa where HIV takes a heavy toll. URL. http://www.sfgate.com/cgibin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/06/26/
[10]	Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC). (2008). URL. http://www.iccnow.org/?mod=newsdetail&news=2684
[11]	Durkheim, E. (1897/1951). Suicide: A study in sociology. New York: The Free Press.
[12]	Deustche Presse-Argentaur (DPA). (2008). Higher AIDS infection rate among Ugandan soldiers.
[13]	Elbe, S. (2002). HIV/AIDS and the changing landscape of war in Africa. International Security, 27, 159-177. doi:10.1162/016228802760987851
[14]	Friends for Peace in Africa (FPA). (2005). WHO tells Uganda to dismantle camps as deaths rise. URL. http://www.friendsforpeaceinafrica.org/idps/32-internal-refugees-displacement/45-who-tells-uganda-to-dismantle-camps-as-deaths-rise.ht ml
[15]	Harris, S. (2007). God’s hostage. URL. http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/panelists/sam_harris/2007/01/women_are_property_1.html
[16]	Heidegger, M. (1996). Being and time. New York, NY: SUNY Press.
[17]	Human Rights Watch (HRW). (2003). Lasting wounds. URL. http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2003/04/02/lasting-wounds
[18]	Human Rights Watch (HRW). (2004). Women’s rights: Fact sheet: Domestic violence and HIV in Uganda. URL. http://www.preventgbvafrica.org/sites/default/files/resources/dv.hivinugfactsheet.hrw.pdf
[19]	Kramer, A. Akmatov, M., & Kretzschmar, M. (2010). Principles and aims of epidemiology. In A. Kramer, M. Kretzschmar, & K. Krickeberg (Eds.), Modern infectious disease epidemiology (pp. 85- 99). New York, NY: Springer.
[20]	Kovacic, K. (2007-2008). Creating a monster: MS-13 and how United States immigration policy produced “the world’s most dangerous gang.” Gonzaga Journal of International Law, 11. URL. http://www.gonzagajil.org/content/view/183/26/
[21]	Kuhn, T. (1962). The structure of scientific revolutions. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.
[22]	Lanier, M. M. (2006). The impact of HIV/AIDS on criminology and criminal justice. The International Library of Criminal Justice, Criminology and Penology. Farnham, Hampshire: Ashgate Publishing.
[23]	Lanier, M. M. (2009). Epidemiological criminology: A critical cross-cultural analysis of the advent of HIV/AIDS. Acta Criminologica, 22, 60-73.
[24]	Lanier, M. M. (2010). Epidemiological criminology (EpiCrim): Definition and application. Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Criminology, 2, 63-103.
[25]	Lanier, M. M., & Henry, S. (2010). Essential criminology (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Westview/Perseus Press.
[26]	Lanier, M. M., Lucken, K., & Akers, T. (2010). Further need for epidemiological criminology. In R. Muraskin (Ed.), Key correctional issues (2nd ed.; pp. 163-174). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall Publishing.
[27]	Leder, D. (1990). The absent body. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
[28]	Lessons from Rwanda (LR). (2005). The United Nations and the prevention of genocide. URL. http://www.un.org/preventgenocide/rwanda/
[29]	Lessons from Rwanda (LR). (2005). Sexual violence: A tool of war. http://www.un.org/preventgenocide/rwanda/backgrounder.shtml
[30]	Lexis Nexis. (2004). Witnesses say that Nyiramasuhuko ordered militia to “rape all Tutsi women and kill the rest”. 3 February 2004.
[31]	Lexis Nexis. (1995). Rape increasingly a weapon of war, UNICEF leader says. 15 September 1995
[32]	Lexis Nexis. (1998). Rwanda: Historic judgement finds Akayesu guilty of genocide. Africa News, 2 September 1998.
[33]	Lutya, T. M., & Lanier, M. M. (2009). EpiCrim criminological responses to human trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation in South Africa. The Stockholm Criminology Symposium, Stockholm, 22-24 June 2009.
[34]	Merleau-Ponty, M. (1962). Phenomenology of perception. Southampton: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
[35]	Merton, R. K. (1968). Social theory and social structure. New York, NY: Free Press.
[36]	Olara, S. (2004). Rape: The hidden weapon against women in war torn Northern Uganda. URL. http://allafrica.com/stories/200411090860.html
[37]	PEPFAR Website. (2008). Country profile: Rwanda. URL. http://www.pepfar.gov/about/opplan08/102013.htm
[38]	Poe, R. (2009). To believe or not to believe: The social and neurologycal consequences of belief systems. Bloomington, IN: Xlibris Corporation.
[39]	Polizzi, D. (2010a). Phenomenological theory. In C. Bryant (Ed.), Routledge handbook of deviant behavior (pp. 129-134). New York, NY, London, UK: Routledge.
[40]	Polizzi, D. (2010b). The social construction of crime and disease: Epidemiological criminology from a phenomenological perspective. The American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting, San Francisco, 17-20 November 2010.
[41]	Polizzi, D., & Lanier, M. M. (2011) Crime as disease: Towards an epidemiological criminology of the social body. Social Theory and Health, under review.
[42]	Rakita, S. (2004). Children of Rwanda: Legacy of genocide, the future of Rwanda. URL. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/21167
[43]	Rave Project. (2003). In Uganda. http://www.theraveproject.com/mapdata/uganda.html
[44]	Robinson, M. B. (2004). Why crime? An integrated systems theory of antisocial behavior. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.
[45]	Schabas, W. A. (1948). Convention on the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide. URL. http://www.preventgenocide.org/law/convention/text.htm
[46]	Sharlach, L. (2010). Rape as genocide: Bangladesh, the former Yugoslavia, and Rwanda. New Political Science, 22, 89-102. doi:10.1080/713687893
[47]	The United Nations. Statute of the tribunal—Annex Article 2. http://www.un.org/ictr/statute.html
[48]	The United Nations. (1994). UN resolution 955. http://www.un.org/ictr/english/Resolutions/955e.htm
[49]	Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance (VSDVAA). (2005). Rape as a tool of war: A fact sheet (amnesty international). URL. http://www.vadv.org/Resources/airapeinwar.html
[50]	Wallis, D. (2008). Peace women: HIV rates soar in ear-torn Northern Uganda. URL. http://www.peacewomen.org/news/Uganda/Sept04/
[51]	Webster’s. (2009). Disease. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). URL. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/disease
[52]	Womens News Network. (2010). New report outlines untold stories of women and war. URL. http://womennewsnetwork.net/2010/10/20/gender-data-unfpa/
[53]	World Health Organization. (2004). The sanitation challenge: Turning Commitment into reality. URL. http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/hygiene/sanchallengecomp.pdf
[54]	Zaitzow, B. (2001). Whose problem is it anyway? Women prisoners and AIDS/HIV. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 45, 673-690. doi:10.1177/0306624X01456004