Women's
Day Special
Star
Law analysis
Definitions
of Crimes of Sexual Violence under ICC
Sultana
Razia
International
Criminal Court (ICC) can be treated as the last court
for the humanity and it defines crimes of sexual violence
more elaborately than before.
It
was seen that all the time sexual violence is treated
as the weapon of war but only now are these crimes explicitly,
permanently, and enforceable outlawed. As per the Rome
Statute definitions of war crimes and crimes against humanity
definitely outlaw many acts of systematic sexual violence
like: rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced
pregnancy, enforced sterilisation, and other acts of similar
gravity. From the Elements of Crimes Annex and the Rome
Statute following definitions are taken:
Rape
*The perpetrator invaded the body of a person by conduct
resulting in penetration, however slight, of any part
of the body of the victim or of the perpetrator with a
sexual organ, or of the anal or genital opening of the
victim with any object or any other part of the body.
*The invasion was committed by force, or by threat of
force or coercion, such as that caused by fear of violence,
duress, detention, psychological oppression or abuse of
power, against such person or another person, or by taking
advantage of a coercive environment, or the invasion was
committed against a person incapable of giving genuine
consent. [It is understood that a person may be incapable
of giving genuine consent if affected by natural, induced
or age-related incapacity. This footnote also applies
to the corresponding elements of article 7(1)(g) - 3,
5 and 6.]
Sexual
Slavery
*The perpetrator exercised any or all of the powers attaching
to the right of ownership over one or more persons, such
as by purchasing, selling, lending or bartering such a
person or persons, or by imposing on them a similar deprivation
of liberty.
*The perpetrator caused such person or persons to engage
in one or more acts of a sexual nature. [It is understood
that such deprivation of liberty may, in some circumstances,
include exacting forced labour or otherwise reducing a
person to servile status as defined in the Supplementary
Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade,
and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery of 1956.
It is also understood that the conduct described in this
element includes trafficking in persons, in particular
women and children.]
Enforced
Prostitution
* The perpetrator caused one or more persons to engage
in one or more acts of a sexual nature by force, or by
threat of force or coercion, such as that caused by fear
of violence, duress, detention, psychological oppression
or abuse of power, against such person or persons or another
person, or by taking advantage of a coercive environment
or such person's or persons' incapacity to give genuine
consent.
*The perpetrator or another person obtained or expected
to obtain pecuniary or other advantage in exchange for
or in connection with the acts of a sexual nature.
Forced
Pregnancy
* The perpetrator confined one or more women forcibly
made pregnant, with the intent of affecting the ethnic
composition of any population or carrying out other grave
violations of international law.
Enforced
Sterilisation
*The perpetrator deprived one or more persons of biological
reproductive capacity.
*The conduct was neither justified by the medical or hospital
treatment of the person or persons concerned nor carried
out with their genuine consent. [The deprivation is
not intended to include birth-control measures which have
a non-permanent effect in practice.][It is understood
that "genuine consent" does not include consent
obtained through deception.]
Sexual
Violence
*The perpetrator committed an act of a sexual nature against
one or more persons or caused such person or persons to
engage in an act of a sexual nature by force, or by threat
of force or coercion, such as that caused by fear of violence,
duress, detention, psychological oppression or abuse of
power, against such person or persons or another person,
or by taking advantage of a coercive environment or such
person's or persons' incapacity to give genuine consent.
Persecution
*Persecution against any identifiable group or collectivity
on political, racial, national, ethnic, cultural, religious,
gender as defined in paragraph 3, or other grounds that
are universally recognised as impermissible under international
law, in connection with any act referred to in this paragraph
or any crime within the jurisdiction of the Court Article
7(2)(g)"Persecution" means the intentional and
severe deprivation of fundamental rights contrary to international
law by reason of the identity of the group or collectivity;
The
author is working in Law Desk, The Daily Star.
