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Enduring Impunity and Post-Conflict Sexual Violence in Liberia and Sierra Leone

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Enduring Impunity and Post-Conflict Sexual Violence in Liberia and Sierra Leone Wright State University CORE Scholar Browse all Theses and Dissertations Theses and Dissertations 2012 When Laws and Representation Are Not Enough: Enduring Impunity and Post-Conflict Sexual Violence in Liberia and Sierra Leone Ashley D. Kitchen Wright State University Follow this and additional works at: https://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/etd_all Part of the International Relations Commons Repository Citation Kitchen, Ashley D., "When Laws and Representation Are Not Enough: Enduring Impunity and Post-Conflict Sexual Violence in Liberia and Sierra Leone" (2012). Browse all Theses and Dissertations. 690. https://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/etd_all/690 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at CORE Scholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in Browse all Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of CORE Scholar. For more information, please contact [email protected]. WHEN LAWS AND REPRESENTATION ARE NOT ENOUGH: ENDURING IMPUNITY AND POST-CONFLICT SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN LIBERIA AND SIERRA LEONE A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts By ASHLEY DANIELLE KITCHEN B.A., Wright State University, 2010 2012 Wright State University WRIGHT STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL December 15, 2012 I HEREBY RECOMMEND THAT THE THESIS PREPARED UNDER MY SUPERVISION BY Ashley Danielle Kitchen ENTITLED When Laws and Representation are Not Enough: Enduring Impunity and Post-Conflict Sexual Violence in Liberia and Sierra Leone BE ACCEPTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF Master of Arts. ____________________________________ December Green, Ph.D. Thesis Director ____________________________________ Laura Luehrmann, Ph.D. Director, Master of Arts Program in International-Comparative Politics Committee on Final Examination: ___________________________________ December Green, Ph.D. Department of Political Science ___________________________________ Vaughn Shannon, Ph.D. Department of Political Science __________________________________ Julianne Weinzimmer, Ph.D. Department of Sociology ___________________________________ Andrew Hsu, Ph.D. Dean, Graduate School ABSTRACT Kitchen, Danielle Ashley. M.A. Department of Political Science, Wright State University, 2012. Whens Laws and Representation are Not Enough: Enduring Impunity and Post- Conflict Sexual Violence in Liberia and Sierra Leone. Throughout the course of history, literature and examination on the impact of civil war has focused little on women, especially in the cases of wartime rape. While the factors which sustain wartime rape are examined with frequency, using gender as an analytical lens, the analysis regarding post-conflict sexual violence and rape is studied far less, leading to the question: what factors are correlated with the continuance of widespread acts of rape even after the cessation of official conflict? Liberia and Sierra Leone suffered high levels of both wartime rape and also post-conflict sexual violence. This comparative case study, using process tracing and the congruence method tests the hypothesis that governments in which there are high levels of female representation will be associated with lower levels of impunity for sexual assault and this will result in lower levels of sexual violence. This study finds that the presence of a female head of state in Liberia does not simply equate to lower levels of sexual violence. The existence of a female president does not necessarily reflect (or translate into) changed gender relations. The passing of laws and the implementation of these laws, such as those in Sierra Leone, will affect women’s lives more positively. Key Words: wartime rape, post-conflict sexual violence, domestic violence, civil war, gender, impunity, female representation, Liberia, Sierra Leone iii TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................1 Literature Review .....................................................................................................6 Research Design .....................................................................................................19 Variables ................................................................................................................21 II. HISTORY OF CONFLICT IN LIBERIA AND SIERRA LEONE ..........................25 Roots of Conflict: Liberia ......................................................................................25 Roots of Conflict: Sierra Leone .............................................................................36 Civil War: Liberia ..................................................................................................43 Civil War: Sierra Leone .........................................................................................53 Pre-War Status of Women: Liberia ........................................................................68 Pre-War Status of Women: Sierra Leone ...............................................................71 III. WARTIME SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN LIBERIA AND SIERRA LEONE ............76 Wartime Sexual Violence: Liberia .........................................................................76 Wartime Sexual Violence: Sierra Leone ................................................................81 IV. POST-CONFLICT SOCIETY AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE .................................91 Responses to Wartime Sexual Violence: Liberia ...................................................91 Responses to Wartime Sexual Violence: Sierra Leone ..........................................98 Post-Conflict Situation: Liberia ...........................................................................109 Post-Conflict Situation: Sierra Leone ..................................................................123 V. CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................137 VI. TABLE 1: PEACE AGREEMENTS: LIBERIA .................................................151 VII. TABLE 2: PEACE AGREEMENTS: SIERRA LEONE .....................................152 VIII. TABLE 3: WARRING FACTIONS: LIBERIA ..................................................152 IX. TABLE 4: WARRING FACTIONS: SIERRA LEONE .....................................153 X. TABLE 5: COUNTRY COMPARISON .............................................................154 XI. TABLE 6: POST-CONFLICT SEXUAL VIOLENCE INITIATIVES ...............155 XII. APPENDIX A: THE KIMBERLEY PROCESS .................................................156 XII. BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................158 iv LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Peace Agreements: Liberia ......................................................................................151 2. Peace Agreements: Sierra Leone .............................................................................152 3. Warring Factions: Liberia ........................................................................................152 4. Warring Factions: Sierra Leone ...............................................................................153 5. Country Comparison: Liberia and Sierra Leone ......................................................154 6. Post-Conflict Sexual Violence Initiatives: Liberia and Sierra Leone ......................155 v LIST OF ACRONYMS AFELL: Association of Female Lawyers of Liberia AFRC: Armed Forces Revolutionary Council AMA: American Medical Association APC: All Peoples Congress ART: Antiretroviral Therapy CAR: Central African Republic CAST: Consolidated African Selection Trust CCC: Concerned Christian Community CEDAW: United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women CDF: Civil Defense Force DDR: Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration DHS: Demographic and Health Survey DRC: Democratic Republic of the Congo ECOMOG: Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group ECOWAS: Economic Community of West African States EO: Economic Outcomes FOSI: Foundation Open Society Initiative FSU: Family Support Unit GBV: Gender-Based Violence vi GEMS: Grassroots Empowerment for Self Reliance GPI: Global Peace Index HRD: Diamond High Council ICC: International Criminal Court ICTR: International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda ICTY: International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia IDP: Internally displaced persons IMC: International Medical Corps IRC: International Rescue Committee ISN: International Relations and Security Network ISU: Internal Security Unit LDHS: Liberian Demographic and Health Survey LURD: Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy LWI: Liberian Women Initiative MODEL: Movement for Democracy in Liberia MSF: Médecins Sans Frontières NDMC: National Diamond Mining Company NPFL: National Patriotic Front of Liberia NPP: National Patriotic Party NPRC: National Provisional Ruling Council NTGL: National Transitional Government of Liberia OHCHR: United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights OTI: Office of Transition Initiatives vii PHR: Physicians for Human Rights PRB: Population Reference Bureau RUF: Revolutionary United Front SARC: Sexual Assault Referral Centers SCSL: Special Court for Sierra Leone SIGI: Social Institutions and Gender Index SLA: Sierra Leone Army SLAUW: Sierra Leone Association of University Women SLPP: Sierra Leone Peoples Party SLST: Sierra Leone Selection Trust Ltd SLWMP: Sierra
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