The strategic use of sexual violence as a weapon of war in genocide and in ethnic/religious conflicts and a case study on the use of sexual slavery by ISIL within the context of the most recent Yazidi genocide in Iraq.

Abstract

In this thesis, I sought to explain the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war. Specifically, I analyzed different theories of the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war, including feminist theory, biosocial theory and strategic theory of rape, in ethnic/religious conflicts and the use of sexual slavery in a genocide context. I also proposed my own theoretical framework that combines different theories of rape to explain the strategic use of sexual violence in ethnic/religious conflicts or in genocide contexts. In my main case study, I analyzed the strategic use of sexual slavery as a weapon of genocide by ISIL against the Yazidis using the previously proposed theoretical framework. I concluded my thesis by reflecting on my position as a researcher and gave suggestions for further research.