In a historic decision, the United Nations war-crimes tribunal in The Hague last month convicted three men in trials that focused exclusively on sexual violence against women during war. By ruling that rape can be used as an instrument of terror against women, the court sets new standards for behavior during war.
When Serb forces occupied the town of Foca in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1992, Muslim men and women were put in separate camps. During the trial, 63 witnesses testified, including 16 women who reported in agonizing detail about how they were selected by soldiers each night and forced to go to "rape camps" where they were repeatedly brutalized.
The court ruled that the slavery and sexual violence were part of a systematic attack against the civilian population and should be considered a crime against humanity. It sentenced old Dragoljub Kunarac to 28 years in prison, Radomir Kovac to 20 years and Zoran Vukovic to 12 years. In addition to organizing the rape camps, Kunarac and Kovac kept young women and girls at the quarters as servants and slaves subject to sexual and physical abuse.