CRSV: World War I
This case note documents the occurrence of sexual violence in violent conflict. It contains explicit mentions of different forms of sexual assault. Reader discretion is advised.
Background of the Conflict
World War 1 was a global conflict between the Allies and Central Powers. Most of the fighting was concentrated in Europe and the Middle East, as well as in certain parts of Africa and the Asia-Pacific, but involved large swathes of troops from the colonies of colonizers on both sides. It started with the decline of the Ottoman Empire and the subsequent disruption of the balance of power in Europe, in parallel with the rising economic competition following industrialization and imperialism.
It was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and resulted in an estimated 9 million deaths and 23 million wounded, as well as 8 million civilian deaths owing to a range of causes including genocide and the spread of the Spanish flu with the movement of troops and displacement of civilians. The war ended with the Treaty of Versailles following the Paris Peace Conference in 1919-1920, and the establishment of the League of Nations.
Prevalence of Sexual Violence
Sexual violence was part of the war strategy across the board. Reports show that Russian women were targeted by advancing Japanese troops (Schmidt, n.d.), Belgian women were targeted by advancing German troops (Brownmiller, 1975). While the invasion of enemy troops was invariably followed systematically by pillaging, destroying, deporting, and using sexual violence against civilians, there were multiple reports of sexual assaults by soldiers who either passed through or were stationed in occupied territories being commonplace in the everyday lives of the civilian population (The World of the Habsburgs, n.d.).
Some of the documented examples of sexual violence are attributed to German soldiers targeting Belgian and French people, Austro-Hungarian soldiers targeting Serbian civilians, the Russian military targeting ethnic minorities, the Turkish troops targeting Armenian people, and more. While the Allies made it a point to collect reports from victims and document German crimes, similar records of crimes committed by their own troops have not been found.
However, it must be noted that precise figures have not been documented. On many occasions, reports were either dismissed as propaganda, or used as propaganda to foment nationalist sentiments to keep the war alive (Crouthamel, 2017; Lipkes, 2007). There are no records of sexual violence in colonized territories as part of World War I, which is not to mean that such forms of violence did not take place.
Basis of the Use of Sexual Violence
Despite the limited reports, it is clear that sexual violence was used strategically from the few patterns that have been mapped. The use of rape and sexual violence to target civilians in invaded and occupied territories points to motives of control, dominance, and intimidation. The value placed by the patriarchy on shame and honor meant that targeting women and girls with sexual violence served to denigrate and shame the enemy. Sexual violence and rape were actively used to further ethnic erasure and genocide targeting particular minority groups. Opportunistic sexual violence was also rampant.
References
Brownmiller, S. (1975). Against Our Will: Men, Women, and Rape. Fawcett Columbine.
Crouthamel, J. (8 January 2017). "Sexuality, Sexual Relations, Homosexuality – 1914–1918." International Encyclopedia of the First World War.
Lipkes J. (2007) Rehearsals: The German Army in Belgium, August 1914, Leuven University Press
Schmidt, D. A. (n.d.). Ianfu, the Comfort Women of the Japanese Imperial Army of the Pacific War: Broken Silence.
The World of the Habsburgs (n.d.) Sexual Assault in the First World War. https://ww1.habsburger.net/en/chapters/sexual-assault-first-world-war
