Since the Second World War, the use of rape as a weapon of war has assumed strategic importance and is now a deliberate military strategy, argue researchers.
A study in the Democratic Republic of the Congo found that 16,000 rapes occurred in 2008 alone and in South Kivu province, health centres estimate that 40 women were raped in the region daily.
In the UK, 50-70 per cent of female asylum applicants were raped, witnessed rape, or have a credible fear of rape.
The effects of rape and sexual violence during war also extend beyond individual victims and are economically, physically, psychologically and culturally devastating for families and communities, say study authors Coleen Kivlahan, volunteer forensic physician for HealthRight International, and Nate Ewigman from the University of Florida.
For example, in recent conflicts, rape has been used as a reward for victory in battle, a boost to troop morale, as punishment and humiliation for both men and women, to incite revenge in opposing troops, to eliminate or “cleanse” religious or political groups and to destabilise entire communities by creating terror.
Geographical, cultural, religious, political, legal, and behavioural conditions affect the likelihood of the systematic use of rape, explain the authors.
For instance, geographically remote locations allow perpetrators to rape with impunity, while the likelihood that women will be raped, shamed and isolated is increased in cultures with strong traditions regarding virginity, marital fidelity and genital cleanliness, suggested the study.