Effects and Limitations of Rape Law and Policy Reforms in Ethiopia Mesay Hagos Asfaw A Dissertation Submitted to the Center for Human Rights, College of Law and Governance Studies, Addis Ababa University, in Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Philosophy Doctor (PhD) in Human Rights Supervisors: Dr. Meron Zeleke Eresso Dr. Emezat Hailu Mengesha Center for Human Rights, College of Law and Governance Studies, Addis Ababa University March 2020 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia AUTHOR’S DECLARATION I, the undersigned, hereby declare that this dissertation is my original work and, to the best of my knowledge, contains no material which has been previously submitted as part of the requirements of any other academic degree or non-degree program and that all sources of information used in this dissertation have been duly acknowledged. _________________________ _________________________ Mesay Hagos Asfaw Date I SUPERVISORS’ APPROVAL This dissertation has been submitted for examination with my approval as a supervisor. Name: Dr. Meron Zeleke Eresso Signature: _______________________ Date: _______________________ Name: Dr. Emezat Hailu Mengesha Signature: _______________________ Date: _______________________ HEAD OF THE CENTER OR PHD PROGRAM COORDINATOR Name: _______________________________________________ Signature: _______________________ Date: _______________ II TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................................... VI NOTES ON ETHIOPIAN NAMING SYSTEM AND THE ETHIOPIAN CALENDAR .......... VII LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................. VIII LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................ IX LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... IX LIST OF RAPE CASES ................................................................................................................ X ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................. XI CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 1 1.1 Background ................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Statement of the Problem .................................................................................................................. 5 1.3 Research Objectives ........................................................................................................................ 8 1.4 Research Questions ......................................................................................................................... 9 1.5 Research Methodology................................................................................................................... 10 1.5.1 Research Design ..................................................................................................................... 10 1.5.2 Data Sources, Time and Sampling .............................................................................................. 10 1.5.3 Instruments and Procedures of Data Collection ............................................................................. 12 1.5.4 Reliability and Validity of the Data ............................................................................................ 19 1.5.5 Data Analysis Procedures ......................................................................................................... 20 1.6 Scope and Limitations of the Study .................................................................................................. 21 1.7 Ethical Considerations ................................................................................................................... 24 1.8 Organisation of the Dissertation ....................................................................................................... 25 CHAPTER TWO: CONCEPTUAL AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ............................ 26 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 26 2.2 Conceptual Framework .................................................................................................................. 26 2.2.1 Sexual Violence as a Gendered Problem ...................................................................................... 26 2.2.2 Intersectional Issues: Sexuality, Gender Identity and Gendered Violence ........................................... 29 2.2.3 The Legal Notion of Rape ........................................................................................................ 35 2.2.4 The Concept of Rape Myths ...................................................................................................... 38 2.3 Etiological Theories of Rape ........................................................................................................... 40 2.3.1 Psychological Theories ............................................................................................................ 41 2.3.2 Biological Theories ................................................................................................................. 43 2.3.3 Feminist Theories ................................................................................................................... 44 CHAPTER THREE: SVAW IN ETHIOPIA ................................................................................ 50 3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 50 3.2 Magnitude and Nature of the Problem ............................................................................................... 50 3.3 Multifaceted Factors Accounting for the High Prevalence of Sexual Violence .......................................... 61 3.4 Prior Legal Responses to Sexual Violence in Ethiopia .......................................................................... 69 3.4.1 Sexual Offence under the Fetha Nagast of the 15th Century............................................................. 69 3.4.2 Sexual Offence under the 1930 Penal Code of Ethiopia .................................................................. 76 3.4.3 Sexual Offence under the 1957 Penal Code of Ethiopia .................................................................. 77 3.4.4 Procedural and Evidentiary Laws Applicable to Sexual Offence ...................................................... 80 3.5 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 82 CHAPTER FOUR: SVAW WITHIN THE HUMAN RIGHTS FRAMEWORK ........................ 84 III 4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 84 4.2 The Mainstream Human Rights Standards and VAW ........................................................................... 84 4.3 The International Human Rights Framework on SVAW ....................................................................... 87 4.3.1 The CEDAW and ‘Soft’ Laws on VAW ...................................................................................... 87 4.4 SVAW within the African Regional Human Rights Framework ............................................................. 95 4.4.1 The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights ...................................................................... 95 4.4.2 The Protocol to the ACHPR on the Rights of Women in Africa ....................................................... 97 4.5 SVAW under the Ethiopian Human Rights Framework ...................................................................... 101 4.5.1 Human Rights in Pre-1991 Ethiopia ......................................................................................... 101 4.5.2 Human Rights Framework under the FDRE Constitution and VAW ............................................... 104 4.6 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 111 CHAPTER FIVE: CONTEXTUALIZING THE RAPE LAW AND POLICY REFORMS ...... 112 5.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 112 5.2 Background to and Strands of Rape Law and Policy Reforms in Ethiopia .............................................. 112 5.3 The Main Strands of the 2004 Rape Law and Corresponding Policy Reforms ......................................... 120 5.3.1 The Main Strands of the 2004 Rape Law Reform ........................................................................ 120 5.3.2 The Main Strands of the Policy Reforms on VAW ...................................................................... 145 5.4 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 158 CHAPTER SIX: EFFECTS OF THE RAPE LAW AND POLICY REFORMS ....................... 159 6.1 Introduction ..............................................................................................................................