Specific Human Rights Issues 385even though states systematically employed it as an instrument of war during World
Wa r II.
During the 1990s, rape as a systematic state policy was increasingly viewed as a
human rights issue, and NGOs urged the ad hoc international criminal tribunals to
consider the crime of rape. At the ad hoc tribunal for Rwanda, Jean- Paul Akayesu was
accused of gang rape and genocide. In a controversial 1998 decision, the judges issued
the unpre ce dented ruling that rape constitutes not only a crime against humanity but
also genocide. Now the statute for the International Criminal Court includes rape, sex-
ual slavery, and forced prostitution among crimes against humanity, when such actions
are part of a widespread and systematic attack against a civilian population.
Rape is not just a war time issue. In South Asia and the Middle East, the prob lem is
particularly acute even during peacetime. In some places, rape against women may be seen
as an acceptable act of revenge against a prior wrong. The raped women, being dishonored,
may be subsequently killed. Or prosecution of the crime may be difficult, as in Pakistan
when a woman who has been raped may be convicted of adultery unless four male wit-
nesses corroborate her rape story. The case of the gang rape of an Indian student in 2012
and her subsequent death has brought the issue into the international limelight in a coun-
try where the definition of rape is vague, local police and government authorities fail to
investigate, and prosecutors do not pursue cases vigorously. Under widespread public
pressure, the Indian government fast- tracked the prosecution of that case and gave four
death sentences.
Physical assault against women is a prob lem in many parts of the world, as well.
Beginning in the 1990s, Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, experienced a wave of attacks against
women, about a third of which involved sexual assault, resulting in 304 deaths in 2010
alone. Like in Pakistan and India, Mexican authorities have been criticized for their
lax investigations and failure to bring perpetrators to justice. In the U.S. military, rape
of female soldiers by their male counter parts attracted widespread attention in 2012–13.
While the military has taken mea sures to curb this abhorrent be hav ior, Congress left
prosecution in the hands of the military itself, much to the dismay of those wanting
civilian authorities to handle cases.
Increasingly, human rights NGOs like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty Inter-
national bring violations of women’s rights to the attention of the international com-
munity, and public pressure is brought to bear. If state authorities fail to take these
cases seriously, then the state, too, becomes complicit. But given dif er ent cultural
norms, private- sphere activities are much easier to hide and more resistant to change.
Trafficking in women and children is another form of gender- specific human rights
violations. While prohibited under the CEDAW convention, the practice has become
more prevalent, facilitated by open borders, pressures to keep labor costs low, and
poverty that drives women and families to seek any kind of employment (including
working in the sex trade). The number of women forced into bonded sweatshop labor