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Keith Orwin
sex per se. Instead, it is the social inequalities that exist prior to conflict
via the public/private dichotomy that increase the susceptibility of women to gender related harm once conflict begins. This article now turns to
individually examine to what extent the four pillars of transitional justice
incorporate a gender-sensitive approach.
Prosecutions
When considering the extent to which gender has become a central issue in transitional justice, it is of paramount importance to address the
evolution of criminal prosecutions for sexual violence. Much progress
has been made in articulating an international legal framework aimed
at prosecuting those involved in sexual violence against both men and
women. Campbell describes the term sexual violence as: “a gender-neutral term that refers to violence of a sexual nature against either women
or men,” (2007: 416). However although victims include men, it can
be safely asserted that women are disproportionately affected by sexual
violence (Wallstrom 2012: 1).
The origins of the contemporary transitional justice system found form
in the aftermath of World War II with the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials (Jeffery and Kim 2013: 4). Despite falling inside culpable behaviour
under the Geneva Conventions, sexual violence was not prosecuted in
either trial (O’Rourke 2013: 83). It can therefore be argued that at this
time in history, the topic of gender was not a central issue within the
concept of transitional justice. In the transcripts of the Nuremberg trial,
for example, there is a 732-page index whose contents fail to include the
words ‘rape’, or ‘women’ (Turano 2011: 1048); and, in the transcripts
of the Tokyo trial the word ‘rape’ is only referenced on four occasions
(Turano 2011: 1062). It is from this standpoint that the evolution of criminal prosecutions regarding sexual violence against women must be addressed.