Article 2

Elijah Zagorski
Professors Currans
Blog Topic: Sexual Violence Against Men
Article Review #2

Sivakumaran, Sandesh. “Sexual Violence Against Men in Armed Conflict.” European Journal of International Law 18.2 (2007): 253-76. Web. 3 Nov.

            It is explored through “Sexual Violence Against Men in Armed Conflict” by Sandesh Sivakumaran, that sexual violence against men occurs more than it may be expected. This extends to include not only that sexual violence happens, but it explains that it happens within armed conflict as a means to emasculate men, their community, and to prove dominance and superiority of the perpetrator. Sivakumaran defines sexual violence in a manner that I haven’t seen before that I think really clears up what exactly the term refers to as he says, “sexual violence includes but is not limited to rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy and enforced sterilization” (262).

            Sivakumaran begins his article by explaining that sexual violence happens against men in armed conflict in addition to women and children. He makes a point to explain that it is typically associated that sexual violence happens to women and children by men, but men can be included in the list of victims and that these victims shouldn’t be forgotten – in both times of war and in times of peace. The author explains that “there is likely an under-reporting of rape and sexual violence in general, and male rape and male sexual violence in particular. This is due to a combination of shame, confusion, guilt, fear, and stigma,” in addition to the “cope like a man” response (255).  It’s further explained that, in general, men who do seek counseling/therapy for their experience, may often be degraded to being considered sexual abuse. They may often face the advice not to press charges, or if they do seek legal compensation, their case may not get all the way through the court system before being brushed off. This can be because doctors tend not to focus on the physical signs of sexual violence on the male body as they typically will focus on the female body. This makes proving that it did happen difficult.

            There are many reasons to explain why sexual violence may be done in the armed conflict setting. This has been something that has been going on for ages, dating back to “ancient Persian murals showing ‘triumphant warriors marching along bearing plates piled high with their ememy’s penises” (265). While this is in within the grounds of sexual mutilation, it is linked to the same mentality and it can accomplish nearly the same thing as other forms of sexual violence. This would be done to emasculate their enemy and prove superiority over them as their manhood is taken from them. This is linked to, again, power and dominance.  Relating back to ancient history’s gender roles and sex, “a male who was sexually penetrated was considered to have lost his manhood and could no longer be considered a warrior or a ruler” (270). In cases where the victim and the perpetrator are of different ethnic backgrounds, the perpetrator may be doing this to prove the superiority of their ethnicity over the man’s. This is because of the gender roles in place that place men above women, and if the perpetrator were to feminize the man of that background, they can prove their superiority over that entire ethnic group.

             This article was a great addition to this topic – sexual violence against men. This article further explores what exactly sexual violence means in terms that are a bit more concrete while not being absolute. It also explores the intersection of sex, gender roles, and the effects of sexual violence. I think that Sivakumaran did a very good job exploring all of the subsections that he had listed in what falls under sexual violence in the context of within armed conflict while still being able to relate it back to sexual violence within peace time, making it a bit easier for people that haven’t been in an armed conflict situation to understand. Personally, this article added to my understanding of different forms of sexual violence such as castration and enforced sterilization. I was not fully aware that “[r]ape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilization, or any other form of sexual” are considered “crime[s] against humanity” (Sivakumaran 262). There were similarities between this article and “The Relationship between Masculinity and Sexual Prejudice in Factors Associated with Violence Against Gay Men” written by Rebecca Stotzer and Margaret Shih as they both explore masculinity in a manner that needs to either be reaffirmed or taken away from another man for one purpose or another. While this specific article explores men taking another’s masculinity away, the previous article explores men that channel their masculinity to be in more hostile environments.