Rape, Catastrophe, and Socialization: A Cross-National Analysis of Wartime Rape and Natural Disasters

How do natural disasters affect the risk of wartime rape in conflict spaces? To date, research has suggested that natural disasters generate conditions of increased vulnerability to interpersonal sexual violence. Meanwhile, influential literature on security studies points to wartime rape as a socialization tool used by armed groups to create intragroup social cohesion. This study attempts to bridge the gap between these two works of literatures through analyzing the dynamics of wartime rape committed by disaster-affected armed groups. Drawing on the sociology of disaster, this paper proposes that the risk of wartime rape decreases when a natural disaster inflicts high costs in a country that is enduring a civil conflict. Empirically, this paper explores this suggested relationship across 179 countries worldwide during the period 1989-2015. Based on quantitative data on natural disasters, wartime rape and armed conflicts, this research finds that natural disasters are a significant...Show moreHow do natural disasters affect the risk of wartime rape in conflict spaces? To date, research has suggested that natural disasters generate conditions of increased vulnerability to interpersonal sexual violence. Meanwhile, influential literature on security studies points to wartime rape as a socialization tool used by armed groups to create intragroup social cohesion. This study attempts to bridge the gap between these two works of literatures through analyzing the dynamics of wartime rape committed by disaster-affected armed groups. Drawing on the sociology of disaster, this paper proposes that the risk of wartime rape decreases when a natural disaster inflicts high costs in a country that is enduring a civil conflict. Empirically, this paper explores this suggested relationship across 179 countries worldwide during the period 1989-2015. Based on quantitative data on natural disasters, wartime rape and armed conflicts, this research finds that natural disasters are a significant predictor for decreases in the likelihood of wartime rape.Show less

Leiden University Student Repository

Documents

In Collections

Rape, Catastrophe, and Socialization: A Cross-National Analysis of Wartime Rape and Natural Disasters