Protection Measures for Survivors of Sexual Violence as an International Crime

The project

Sexual violence has been widely used as a weapon during situations of conflict or widespread and/or systematic human rights violations, especially against vulnerable parts of the civilian population. International tribunals, such as the International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda (ICTY and ICTR respectively) were responsible for important developments in the field of international criminal law prosecuting sexual violence crimes as international crimes. The inclusion in the Rome Statute of various form of sexual violence (rape, sexual slavery, forced pregnancy, forced sterilization, forced prostitution and other forms of sexual violence) and the most recent jurisprudence of the International Criminal Court (ICC) gave a further push to the fight against impunity for those crimes. However, the increase in prosecution of sexual violence as an international crime posed new challenges to Courts, Tribunals and prosecuting authorities, in terms of how to ensure the safety and well-being of survivors of those crimes in the most problematic settings.

Project overview

The project will focus on identifying protection measures for survivors of sexual violence as an international crime derived from international legal standards and evidenced by cases at the international and domestic level; and other practices of select courts, tribunals and offices of the prosecutor. There is no existing comprehensive study on this topic. The project will culminate in a research paper on the topic, which would be helpful in order to have an overview of the existing framework and allow comparison among different systems in order to identify the most protective approach for survivors.

Hence, the focus of this research will be protection measures of survivors of sexual violence as an international crime (war crimes and crimes against humanity). Protection measures refer to any measure taken to ensure especially but not exclusively the physical and psychological welfare, safety and security of survivors taken at the pre-judicial, judicial and post-judicial phase of proceedings, including at the reparation stage. They include all the protective aspects of precautionary measures taken by Courts and Tribunals and the specific measures taken during investigation by the Office of the Prosecutor.

In particular, the research will focus on four aspects:

1. The jurisprudence of international criminal tribunals relating to the issue of protection measures for sexual violence survivors in all phases of the proceedings (especially ICC, ICTY, ICTR, Special Court for Sierra Leone – final list to be established). The phases to be considered include: investigation, trial, measures taken after the end of proceedings (if applicable). The main topics to be examined include: forms of protection measures given; criteria used to issue them – e.g. specific type of crime, personal situation, age etc.; balance between protection measures and rights of the accused. A quality approach would be preferable, giving particular attention to the cases where the jurisprudence has been more protective regarding survivors. The same section should include an analysis of policy papers and guidelines developed by Courts and Tribunals (if applicable).
2. The jurisprudence of selected national tribunals (common and civil law systems: list of countries to be established).
3. The existing international standards on types of protection measures and criteria for issuing them (other than the ones developed by Courts and Tribunals).
4. Relevant doctrine (on best practices, challenges etc.) The research method will include database research on case law; a desk review of policy papers and any secondary literature; and interviews with experts and practitioners who have relevant experience. The results of the research will be used as a basis for cases TRIAL International will litigate at the national and international level in order to ensure that the protection of sexual violence survivors meets the highest possible standards, and to push jurisprudence forward.

Project output

At the end of the project a 30 page report will be presented to TRIAL International. The report will include the output of the research undertaken, structured in a thematic way (exact themes to be determined at a later stage as a part of the project) and on the basis of the source (international tribunals, national courts, international standards and guidelines, relevant doctrine and experts’ opinion). The report will end with conclusions and recommendations on possible avenues to push the jurisprudence forward. The annexes to the report, which are not included in the word count, will consist of a bibliography, a table of cases (jurisprudence at the national and international level), the questionnaire designed to interview the experts, the notes and/or recordings of the different interviews.

TRIAL International will use those as a basis for protection measures requested on behalf of sexual violence survivors both at the national and international levels.

Trial International

TRIAL International is a non-governmental organization fighting impunity for international crimes and supporting victims in their quest for justice. TRIAL International takes an innovative approach to the law, paving the way to justice for survivors of unspeakable sufferings. The organization provides legal assistance, litigates cases, develops local capacity and pushes the human rights agenda forward.