Browsing by Subject "ICTY"

This thesis examines the use of sexual violence against men during the Bosnian War in 1992-1995, based on the case files of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Previous studies on the victimization of men in conflict-related contexts, including in Bosnian War, are lacking and are not researched enough. The objective is to contribute to the research on sexual violence against men in conflict-related contexts, to find the motives behind committing such actions and to combine the areas of research – conflict, war crimes and human rights studies. The primary source for this thesis is the database of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the first-ever international war crimes tribunal to indict and convict individuals with charges of sexual violence against men. The case files on individuals that have been charged of using sexual violence or include charges of sexual violence in their indictments were analysed to clarify if they fit into the criteria of this research. Sexual violence against men during Bosnian War was used as tactic, a method to create and spread fear. It was part of widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population and to dehumanise the victims. In the case of the Bosnian Serbs and Bosnian Croats the data reveals an intent to forcibly remove a specific ethnic group from an area to ensure control and to depopulate certain areas. Analysis shows that in many instances the person convicted of his or her crime(s) was not directly involved in committing the crimes but bore the responsibility of the acts of their subordinates.