The Military’s Role in CRSV Explained

Weapon of War

In 2024, researchers from Durham University discovered criminal records from 1590 - 1591 regarding a French military captain and prolific sexual abuser named Mathurin Delacanche.

He committed sexually abusive acts during the War of Religion.

He was stopped when a wealthy widow and landowner named Renee Chevalier, used her resources to transport 57 villagers by boat from their rural village to Paris. 

Due to their testimony, Delacanche was hanged in 1600.

Why does this matter?

Conflict Related Sexual Violence (CRSV) is still being perpetrated by soldiers.

However, one of the recurring myths about CRSV is that it is primarily carried out by soldiers.

This is not true.

The perpetrators of CRSV range from:

• Soldiers

• Government officials

• Jailers

• NGO personnel

• Family members

• Community members/ Neighbours

However, when soldiers are responsible for committing sexually violent acts, they can be categorized in a couple of ways:

Individual Acts

This is when soldiers, under their own discretion, commit sexual violence for their own purposes. This includes acts of revenge.

Spiritual/Religious Acts

In the Democratic Republic of Congo one of the reasons behind why some soldiers commit CRSV is because they think that raping a virgin grants them protection.

Similarly, in Nigeria, some male survivors have been specifically targeted because of spiritual rituals. 

‘Enjoyment’ Bonding

Especially in cases where the military forcibly conscripts soldiers, sexual violence can be used as a means of creating a bond between between soldiers who do not want to be there.

Fear Based Insurance

Soldiers sometimes choose to commit group rape as a means of insurance against their cohort. The shared horror of committing a despicable crime serves as another way of creating a forced bond.

Genocidal/Ethnic Cleansing Military Strategy

Due to the destructive mental and physical toll that these prohibited acts have on individuals and communities, some militaries actively incorporate CRSV into their war strategy.  

For instance, one way to recognize state responsibility in CRSV is by noting the increased amount of rapes and sexual violence that occurs in detention facilities against prisoners of war.

Despite the categorizations: no military is the same.

Just because a military uses conscripted soldiers does not mean that they are more likely to allow these prohibited acts to happen.

Whether a military is more or less likely to commit CRSV is dependent on their culture, morals and their leadership style.