Citation

Olujic MB. Cult. Surv. Q. 1995; 43-45.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1995, Cultural Survival Inc.)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

12295014

Abstract

The article focuses on public violence, especially sexual coercion and torture in the war in former Yugoslavia. A report in December of 1992, compiled by a fact-finding mission of the European Community, stated that Bosnian Serb soldiers raped 20,000 women; however, other findings suggest that the number of rape victims was between 30,000 and 50,000. The author's anthropological research revealed that many of the rapes in Bosnia occurred in "rape camps" where the conquered women were forcibly held by Serb soldiers. The collected testimonies in many of these camps indicated that the majority of female victims died from gunshots, from bleeding as a consequence of gang rape, or from suicide motivated by shame. In addition, stories narrated by the victims of rape in these camps are presented in the article. These testimonies reflect the pain of family reactions and illustrate the cruelty and dehumanization of war. The need to view rape in war as an atrocity in a range of atrocities is stressed.

Language: en