Abstract
Sexual violence against Armenian women and girls during the Armenian Genocide a century ago has been well-documented by survivors, diplomats, missionaries and other eyewitnesses. The means used to subjugate and persecute female Armenians were as diverse and widespread as they were brutal. Unfortunately, such acts have only been repeated in subsequent conflicts, with similarly devastating consequences for the victims, their families and their entire communities. With few exceptions, such devastation has been achieved with impunity. For the past 20 years, however, increasing efforts have been made to prosecute these acts as war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. The plight of Armenian women and girls, whose trauma has been passed down through generations, reinforces the importance of these efforts.
Professor of Practice, University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law. Thanks to Chris Robertson, Roy Spece and Darren Modzelewski for their insightful comments.
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Notes
See M. Bjørnlund (2011) ‘A Fate Worse than Dying: Sexual Violence during the Armenian Genocide’, in D. Herzog (ed.) Brutality and Desire: War and Sexuality in Europe’s Twentieth Century ( London: Palgrave Macmillan ), pp. 19–20.
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© 2016 Najwa Nabti
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Nabti, N. (2016). Legacy of Impunity: Sexual Violence against Armenian Women and Girls during the Genocide. In: Demirdjian, A. (eds) The Armenian Genocide Legacy. Palgrave Studies in the History of Genocide. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-56163-3_8
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