Political Economy Of Rape Analysis

In the article “The Political Economy of Rape: An Analysis of Systematic Rape and Sexual Abuse of Women During Armed Conflict in Africa” , Meredeth Turshen argues that rape and other forms of sexual violence during times of conflict are connected to economic practices and property ownership. This leads to an analysis of the ways in which sexual violence is used to enforce the notions of women as property and used to negotiate ownership of women’s property. Women are considered valuable due to their productivity and ability to reproduce, as well as for any land or property they may own. Turshen uses the conflicts in Rwanda and Mozambique to illustrate the interactions between women and property. Also discussed is the cultural beliefs and values …show more content…
Doing so can result in a worsening of the situation, such as a focus on sexual abuse resulting in more sexual abuse and ineffective international intervention, such as policy makers not understanding the full complexity of the situation . Turshen does an admirable job of keeping her article specific to the topic addressed, while mostly avoiding generalizing the topic to the cause, consequence, and solution model suggested by Autesserre. In the background section for the Mozambique conflict, Turshen is very brief, but explains the formation of both sides of the conflict and international contribution to the conflict . The focus is not on one aspect of the conflict, but on a number of factors. While it isn’t an in-depth analysis, it provides enough context for the rest of the article. The Rwandan background provides more information than the Mozambique background. It analyzes both the history of the country in terms of colonialism, as well as the economic and cultural elements that lead to the conflict . It is the culmination of these factors and not a single one that lead to the conflict. By including multiple factors, Turshen leaves the opportunity open to explore multiple effects of and solutions to the …show more content…
She avoids framing the narrative in a narrow way by discussing multiple causes, consequences, and solutions to the use of sexual abuse in times of conflict. The causes examined focus on both national and international input into the start of the conflict, such as colonialism. The consequence of sexual violence has many causes and many results, such as a desire to monopolize women’s productive and reproductive labour and to take women’s property. The solutions suggested by Turshen include both specific and general suggestions, from altering property laws to include women to dismantling the gender biases in society. Turshen’s article also suggests hierarchies between not only genders but between people within those genders. Overall, the article is a comprehensive look at the connections between sexual abuse and