FIGHTING SEXUAL VIOLENCE AGAINST GIRLS AND GIRL CHILDREN IN ARMED CONFLICT

Sexual violence against children
and other civilians is frequently
used as a weapon of war to terrorize
the population, spread
fear, instill fear for political and
military purposes, humiliate
specific ethnic groups, or punish
civilians suspected of collaborating
with enemies. It is a traumatic
event with long-term physical,
psychological, social, and economic
ramifications. Even though
this crime has persisted throughout
history, social and legal
studies have been deafeningly
silent on the subject for a long
time. Why? What are the social
and legal implications of this silence?
How do the current social
studies address the victims’
needs? What role does international
justice play? The purpose
of this work is to examine the
major issues, challenges, and reforms
that have been implemented
in the fight against sexual and
gender-based violence against
girls and girl children. In this
work, the terms girls and girl
children refer to two distinct categories
within the larger category
of children, namely the
adolescent and infant categories.
Indeed, the needs of these
two groups differ, and as a result,
a better legal conceptualization
of these categories is
required to confront the heinous
consequences of sexual and
gender-based violence in armed
conflict.

Laura Guercio is a practising lawyer
with a master’s degree in
law and a master’s degree in political
science, as well as a PHD
in social science. She teaches
Sociology of Human Rights and
International Cooperation to Development
at the University of
Perugia. Among her current and
previous roles: Member of the
Management Board of the EU Fundamental
Rights Agency, Member
of the European Law Institute
Council, and Secretary-General
of the Inter-ministerial Committee
for Human Rights, Coordinator
of the Universities Network
for Children in Armed Conflict.
Among her last books are Constructing
the Categories of Girls
and Girl Children in the Social and
Legal System, Armando 2020,
and Sociologia dei diritti umani,
Mondadori 2020.