Comments on: Rape still a powerful weapon of war

By: Historiann

Historiann — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 19:10:28 +0000

Chris–rape was a part of the Revolution, although as you can imagine, American sources were much more eager to document atrocities committed by the invading/occupying British army than by pro-independence American forces.

Sharon Block wrote about rape in the Revolutionary war in her book, Rape and Sexual Power in Early America. She also had an article in the Journal of American History on rape in the Revolution, although that article focused more on literary and journalistic representations of rape than on documenting the scope and extent to which rape was a part of that war. Her book is at Amazon and all of the usual on-line places, but if you have access to a university library, it will probably have a copy you can peek at for free.

By: Chris E

Chris E — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 19:06:17 +0000

I am looking for good sources regarding rape (by either side) during the American Revolutionary War. This was prompted by a discussion on a reenactor web-list which is predominantly male. I am one of the smaller number of vocal women on the list. A male poster (and military by trade) contended that it was so rare as to have been nearly non-existent. I am not one to sit quietly by, but know I need to marshal documentation before I comment. I cannot believe he is right.

By: Historiann

Historiann — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 03:15:56 +0000

Aine, thanks for stopping by to comment. I know there was a young recent Ph.D. who wrote a dissertation on sex workers in Japan and their relationship with American soldiers during WWII and in occupied Japan, although I forget her name. I’m sure a WorldCat dissertation search will reveal all!

You might also take a look at the program for the 2008 Berkshire Conference. (Look in the left-hand blogroll for the links to the Berkshire Conference and the program.) We had a number of panels on war, torture, sexuality, and gender–do searches on war, torture, and World War II to get the names of people doing research in those fields right now. They’ll be the scholars who can best advise you, once you’ve done your due diligence!

By: Aine

Aine — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 20:19:43 +0000

Hi all,
Just came across this accidently. I’m very glad I did. I’m about to enter my final year of my history degree and am considering doing my dissertation on prostitution and/or forced sex during WW2.
If anyone has the name of books, websites etc I would be very grateful. I would prefer to focus on Europe, though I have been finding quite a lot on ‘the comfort women’ (hate that phrase…they were forced) for the Japanese soldiers.
Any info would be greatly appreciated. You can email me at: ainemaread@hotmail.com
Thank you,
Aine

By: Historiann

Historiann — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:51:56 +0000

Dear AH–thanks for stopping by and leaving such an informed comment, and for confirming my hunch (at least in the case of Liberia.) Women heads of state may be more likely than men to prioritize women’s rights, but they’re not necessarily more effective in getting the job done.

By: AH

AH — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:20:18 +0000

A few recent stories on the Liberian/UN focus on sexual violence:

Liberia: Rape Highest Reported Crime in Country: http://allafrica.com/stories/200803180756.html

Liberia: Special Court for Sexual Violence Underway - http://www.namnewsnetwork.org/v2/read.php?id=43511

UNMIL, Gol Intensify Prevention of Rape - http://allafrica.com/stories/200804100810.html

UNMIL Press Release on Latest Campaign -
http://unmil.org/article.asp?id=2710

By: AH

AH — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:07:57 +0000

women’s rights are never the priorities of the new governments that rise in the wake of these wars.

Liberia’s first elected government after the end of the civil wars has certainly been making noise that curbing sexual violence is a priority. The government’s deputy minister of gender is part of a joint UN/government task force on sexual violence. and women are more represented in the government than most places in West Africa.

Although awareness is rising, the statistical reality is that rape has remained the most reported crime throughout the Johnson-Sirleaf administration. This may offer some hope because at least it’s getting reported - hopefully a first step to addressing it and dealing with the attitudes and conditions that sexual violence needs to flourish. As far as prosecutions go, policing and justice are a problem for all crime in Liberia, particularly rape.

Here are a few billboards related to rape/violence against women in Liberia:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/herwigphoto/2101362318/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/herwigphoto/2101353096/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/herwigphoto/2101378034/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/89232788@N00/172414308/

By: Normalized Rape Epidemic in the Congo « Pizza Diavola

Normalized Rape Epidemic in the Congo « Pizza Diavola — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 06:43:59 +0000

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By: The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo at Faux Real

The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo at Faux Real — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 00:38:32 +0000

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By: Historiann

Historiann — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 22:45:34 +0000

Thanks, mrbubs–the book I referenced in the comments above is published–you can read about it on the Abraham in Arms page at the top of the blog. However, it was my research on that book that informed my commentary on men who didn’t use rape as a tool of war, that is, the Northeast woodlands Indians in the 17th-18th centuries.

Thanks for stopping by to leave such an informative comment! You’re absolutely right about the uses of rape in wartime propaganda–I think that Sharon Block’s book talks about the ways in which pro-Independence Americans used the threat of rape of American women by British soldiers during the Revolution. (This is one reason that I’m quite sure Algonquian and Iroquois men didn’t rape their captives–if there had been even the merest hint of another ugly thing to believe and/or fear about the Indians, English propagandists like Cotton Mather would have been all over that like a cheap suit. The English were willing to believe anything about the Indians, including rumors of the cannibalism of English babies and children, so we have to believe that they’d run with rape rumors too.)