“Come and See What God Has Done”: Religious Violence and Sexual Violence in the Bosnian War, 1992-1995 by Jessica Taylor Master of Arts in Women’s Studies, University of Ottawa, 2010 Bachelor of Theology, Saint Paul University, 2009 A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctorate of Philosophy In the Graduate Academic Unit of Interdisciplinary Studies Supervisor: Lisa Todd, Ph.D., Dept. of History Committee Member: Cathy Holtmann, Ph.D., Dept. of Sociology, Dir. of the Muriel McQueen Ferguson Center Examining Board: Jula Hughes, Ph.D., LL.B., Faculty of Law David Hofmann, Ph.D., Dept. of Sociology Suzanne Hindmarch, Ph.D., Dept. of Political Science External Examiner: Janet Jacobs, Ph.D., Dept. of Women and Gender Studies, Uni- versity of Colorado Boulder This dissertation is accepted by the Dean of Graduate Studies THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW BRUNSWICK July 2017 © Jessica Taylor, 2017 Abstract During the Bosnian War (1992-1995), between 20,000 and 50,000 women, and an unknown number of men, were victims of systematic and strategic sexual violence, leading to the rapid evolution of international law and jurisprudence around sexual vio- lence in war. The lines of conflict in the former Yugoslavia were drawn across ethno- religious lines, leading to the use of religiously imbued rhetoric, symbols, and violence. Religious and sexual elements of violence can be mapped using mass graves, rape camps, destroyed religious buildings, and the bodies of the dead. Despite repeated dis- courses, witness statements, and images that illustrate elements of both religious vio- lence and sexual violence, there is very little literature about the Bosnian War that dis- cusses the impact religion has on sexual violence. This dissertation analyzes court rec- ords, archived oral history interviews, and the stories of survivors recorded by journal- ists, activists, and scholars to locate incidents where religious violence and sexual vio- lence intersected and impacted one another. I argue that, while religious violence and sexual violence are separate phenomena, they can operate together with a ‘miscible’ quality that compounds the suffering of victims. By analyzing the perpetration of such crimes in the 1990s, my research illustrates that religious markers worked within acts of sexual violence, producing important short-term and long-term impacts. Short-term im- pacts occurred within the incident of violence and included framing, identifying, (self) policing, and intensifying. Long-term impacts were consequences that went beyond the incident of violence and included normalizing sexualised violence, justifying sexual vio- lence, claiming bodies and territories through forced conversions and branding, and de- ii terring the return of refugees after the conflict. Exploring the relationship between reli- gious violence and sexual violence gives new insights to these highly intimate and inten- tional forms of violence, but also indicates the way parts of violence are remembered or buried, and the on-going limitations of local justice and international law. iii Acknowledgements This project is made possible and glued together by the love and support of so many people around the world! I was fortunate to have the best possible committee for this very interdisciplinary project. I am extremely grateful to the hard work and skillful supervision of this disser- tation by Lisa Todd. Thank you. Thank you for your edits, encouragements, insights, and how-to’s. Thank you for taking on this project, helping me make this dissertation my own, and helping me navigate research in Europe. Thank you for helping me create a successful SSHRC application. Thank you for asking everyone in the history for what- ever clothes they were wearing when I showed up to my defense in yoga pants because my luggage had been left in Vancouver. Thank you for sharing the best ways to sweet talk librarians, email my academic heroes, and write about the tricky and emotionally difficult subjects we work with. Hvala! My committee also included Jula Hughes and Cathy Holtmann, who spent many hours meeting in person and by Skype, and giving me crucial feedback every step of the way. Thank you, Jula, for your keen eye for detail, your skillful wordsmithing, and tak- ing the time to teach me law. Thank you, Cathy, for helping me articulate the finer points of my research and its boundaries, especially my methodologies. This project would not be the same without each of you, your guidance, your enthusiasm, and the dif- ferent perspectives you brought to this project. Hvala! I am so grateful to my wonderful partner Minshu Mo, who has done absolutely everything to be a supportive partner, and encouraged me when I was doing research and writing abroad. You reminded me to put the work away, celebrated the little victories iv with me, and heartened me while I wrote at our kitchen table. Through long hours, skyping across the world, and every word I typed, you were there. I love you. Havala! Volim te! Conor Falvey was with me when I first conceived this project in Ghana, was there when I started this research as part of my MA, when I was accepted to the Gradu- ate Theological Union, and when I transferred to the University of New Brunswick. You have made me countless cups of tea, tolerated my turning the walls of our apart- ment into massive mind maps, were dogged about encouraging self-care, and have been there for my tears and victories. You have read my chapters and wrapped me in love. Hvala! This dissertation could not have come together without the ongoing encourage- ment from my family; my parents, Paul and Sara, and my siblings Devon, Eric, Aidan, Zachary, Delaney, Quinn and Rowan. My grandparents, especially my Granny and Grandma have been a source of unconditional support and love. My Grandpa always believed in me and was excited to hear about my adventures. A special thank you to my Granda, who always asked me about school, helped move me since my first year, drove me across the country, and always anticipated that my dissertation was almost done, but passed away before it was completed. I know you are with me always. Hvala! A special thank you to Amber Chisolm, Carolyn Sullivan, Mad McDaniel, who each took the time to read through chapters of my dissertation. Thank you to friends from my program in Berkeley, especially Christ Moreland, Joe Conley, Luke Devine, Austin and Jane Leninger, Tripp Hudgins, and Tom Sundarum who feed my soul and continue to inspire me with their own projects and aspirations. Thank you to East Coast friends, especially Arwen Falvey, Hannah Gray, Ryan Cole, Valerie Edelman, Adrian v Edgars, Hayden Richardson, Mark Walma, Nathan Thompson, Mary Milliken, Shawn Dorey, Tracy Glynn, Sophie Lavoie, and the Fredericton Youth Feminists (especially Megan, Dominique, Abbey, and Minji) who helped me survive long winters both real and metaphorical. Thank you to Matt Smith and Keri-Ann Scott, at AIDS New Bruns- wick, for doing everything to enable me to finish my program while I working full time, I am extremely grateful for all the times you helped me sneak away to campus. Thank you to Vancouver friends who always checked in on me and made sure I wasn’t working too hard, especially Dora, Joanne, Min, and Ivy. Hvala! I have also been supported and encouraged by a number of mentors around the world, especially Karen Pearlston, Aloke Chatterjee, Carolyn Sharp, Linda Eyre, Sandra Schneiders and Claire Turenne-Sjölander. Thank you for all the feedback, phone calls, meals shared and many other forms of encouragement and support over the years. Your friendship means so much to me. Hvala! This project initially started in Berkeley, California before moving to the Univer- sity of New Brunswick. This dissertation would not have been possible without my time there and the multitude of people who advised, mentored, and contributed to this project. I would like to thank the faculty of the Graduate Theological Union and UC Berkeley, especially Ron Hassner, Judith Berling, His Eminence Metropolitan Nikitas Lulias, Ros- sitza Schroeder, and Bill O’Neill. Hvala! I am especially grateful to folk I have met in Bosnia-Herzegovina, especially Ann Petrila, Selma Varić from the Post-Conflict Research Center, Muhamed Durakovic and Nihad Huseinović from Summer University Srebrenica, and David Pettigrew. I am also grateful for the guidance and mentorship I received at the Center for South Eastern vi European Studies in Graz, Austria, especially Güler Alkan and Emma Lantschner. Hvala! Hvala! vii Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................. ii Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................... iv Maps: Locating Religious and Sexual Violence in this Project ....................................... ix Pronunciation Guide........................................................................................................ xii Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 1 Literature Review ........................................................................................................... 7 Theoretical Framework & Methodology ..................................................................... 17 Research, Sources, and Methods .................................................................................