Gender and the Future of Genocide Studies and Prevention

This article addresses the implications of recent gender research for the definition of the crime of genocide and our understanding of it as an historical process. It proposes that gendered violence is a central defining component of the crime. Going beyond a discussion of rape and sexual violence, it argues that a gendered understanding of atrocity in general offers important tools for an early warning system that should be incorporated into the research methodology and reporting strategies of the United Nations, the International Criminal Court (ICC), human rights organizations, and government agencies and intelligence services. Briefly examining the cases of Darfur and Srebrenica, the article demonstrates how gender-neutral conceptualizations of the crime fail to recognize and adequately account for the specific sorts of violence that are often the most immediately indicative of the crime of genocide, and how this failure can inadvertently contribute to or perpetuate strate- gies of genocide denial