Women's War

Bosnia: The Rape Camps

During the Bosnian War (1992-1995), Serbian forces operated organized rape camps where Muslim women were held captive, repeatedly assaulted, and deliberately impregnated. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) estimated 20,000–50,000 women were raped. Many were held for months. Some were killed when they became pregnant. Others were forced to carry children of their rapists to term — a form of ethnic cleansing through forced reproduction.

The ICTY became the first international court to classify systematic wartime rape as a crime against humanity. It took until 2001. The trauma continues today — thousands of “children of war” in Bosnia live with the knowledge of how they were conceived.

Congo: The Rape Capital of the World

The Democratic Republic of Congo has been called “the rape capital of the world” by the UN. Since 1998, an estimated 200,000 women and girls have been raped by armed groups — militias, rebel forces, and the Congolese army itself. In the eastern provinces of North and South Kivu, rape rates are 48 women per hour.

Sexual violence is used to terrorize communities, destroy social bonds, and control territory. Fistula — a devastating internal injury caused by violent rape — affects tens of thousands. Many victims are children. The youngest documented survivor was 3 years old. The international community's response has been largely limited to reports and resolutions.

Iraq & ISIS: Slavery as Policy

When ISIS captured northern Iraq in 2014, they enslaved an estimated 7,000 Yazidi women and girls. ISIS published theological justifications for slavery and rape. Women were bought and sold in markets. Prices were posted online. Girls as young as 9 were sold as “wives.”

Nadia Murad, a Yazidi survivor who won the Nobel Peace Prize, testified that she was raped repeatedly, sold multiple times, and tortured for months. Thousands of Yazidi women remain missing. The Sinjar region still holds mass graves containing women who were killed when they were no longer “useful.”

Syria: Rape Dungeons & Chemical Torture

Syrian government forces operated a systematic torture and sexual violence program in Assad's prisons. The Association of Detainees and Missing Persons in Sednaya Prison estimates 17,000 people were tortured to death in Sednaya alone — including thousands of women. Amnesty International documented systematic rape, sexual torture, and forced nudity.

Women prisoners were subjected to “sexual torture” — rape with objects, electric shocks to genitals, and forced nudity in front of male guards. Chemical weapons attacks deliberately targeted pregnant women and children. The Syrian Network for Human Rights documented 222 chemical attacks that killed 1,514 civilians — 26% of them women and children. The international response was limited to rhetoric.

Myanmar: Genocidal Rape

During Myanmar's 2017 military campaign against the Rohingya, UN investigators documented systematic rape as a tool of genocide. Over 1 million Rohingya were forced to flee to Bangladesh. Médecins Sans Frontières estimated that in one month alone, Myanmar security forces killed at least 9,000 Rohingya — including 1,000 children under 5.

Women survivors testified to gang rape by soldiers, rape with objects, and being forced to watch family members being killed. Children as young as 8 were raped. Pregnant women were tortured. The UN called it “a textbook example of ethnic cleansing.” No Myanmar military officials have been prosecuted.

UN's Sexual Abuse Crisis

Syrian Refugee Crisis: 13 Million Displaced

The Syrian war has displaced over 13 million people — the largest refugee crisis since WWII.6.8 million are women and children. In Jordan's Zaatari camp — which housed 80,000 people at its peak — UNICEF documented widespread child marriage. Girls as young as 12 were married off by families desperate to reduce the number of mouths to feed.

In Lebanon, Syrian refugee women report widespread sexual harassment and assault. A 2016 survey found that 90% of Syrian refugee women experienced sexual harassment by employers, landlords, or aid workers. Many cannot report the abuse because they lack legal status and fear deportation.

The international response has been woefully inadequate. The UN's Syrian refugee appeal is only 37% funded. Women and children bear the cost of this funding gap through reduced protection, limited healthcare, and cuts to food assistance that force families into survival prostitution.

Gender Gaps in VA Care

Major Peace Processes: Male-Only Clubs

Military Reforms

• 1. Independent military justice system: Remove sexual assault cases from chain of command entirely
• 2. Mandatory prosecution: Commanders who fail to report MST lose rank and benefits
• 3. Victim support guarantee: No discharge or punishment for reporting assault
• 4. Public accountability: Annual public reporting of sexual assault rates by unit and base
• 5. Cultural transformation: Zero tolerance for misogyny, racism, and sexual harassment

International Justice

• 1. Universal ICC jurisdiction: All UN member states must accept ICC authority for sexual violence crimes
• 2. Hybrid courts: Create special courts in conflict zones with international/local judges
• 3. Victim compensation fund: International fund providing reparations for sexual violence survivors
• 4. Sanctions enforcement: Economic sanctions on countries that use rape as a weapon of war
• 5. Corporate accountability: Hold contractors liable for sex trafficking and exploitation

Peace Building

• 1. 50% representation requirement: All peace negotiations must include equal women's participation
• 2. Women's rights veto: Peace agreements cannot remove existing women's rights protections
• 3. Economic inclusion mandate: Post-conflict reconstruction must reserve 30% of contracts for women
• 4. Education protection: Attacks on girls' schools classified as war crimes
• 5. Transitional justice inclusion: Truth commissions must document gender-based violence

Military Sexual Assault Reports (DOD)

Reports nearly quadrupled after the military improved reporting channels — suggesting the true rate was always far higher than reported. The 2014 spike followed Senator Gillibrand's reform push. Sources: DOD SAPRO Annual Reports.

MST Prevalence Rate by Gender (%)

1 in 4 women and 1 in 100 men report military sexual trauma to the VA. Due to the military's gender ratio, there are actually more male MST survivors by total count. Sources: VA MST screening data.

Women in the US Military (1973–2025)

Women went from 2.5% of the force to 18.1% — but still face systemic barriers, assault, and exclusion. Combat roles only opened in 2015. Sources: DOD Demographics Reports.

The Combat Exclusion Fiction

The “combat exclusion policy” — which banned women from combat roles until 2015 — was always a fiction. In Iraq and Afghanistan, there were no “front lines.” Women drove supply convoys through IED-laden roads. They manned checkpoints. They conducted raids as part of Cultural Support Teams attached to Special Operations.

168 women died in Iraq and Afghanistan. Over 1,000 were wounded in action. Specialist Monica Lin Brown received the Silver Star for shielding wounded soldiers with her body during a mortar attack in Afghanistan. Sergeant Leigh Ann Hester became the first woman since WWII to receive the Silver Star for direct combat action.

Despite their service, women veterans face unique challenges: VA facilities that lack gynecological care, PTSD screening tools designed for men, a culture that still doesn't believe women were “really” in combat, and a public that asks “Did you actually see combat?” when they mention their service.

Agent Orange: Three Generations and Counting

Between 1962 and 1971, the US military sprayed 20 million gallons of Agent Orange over Vietnam. The herbicide contained dioxin — one of the most toxic substances known to science. The Vietnamese government estimates 3 million people have been affected, including 150,000 children born with birth defects.

The US government denied any link between Agent Orange and health effects for decades. It took until 1991 — twenty years — for Congress to pass the Agent Orange Act. Even then, coverage was limited. Vietnamese victims have received nothing from the US government. A 2004 lawsuit was dismissed.

The effects continue into the third generation. Grandchildren of Agent Orange victims in Vietnam are being born with the same defects. This is what war does to women: it poisons their ability to create life. And the country responsible refuses to pay for what it did.

Fallujah: Worse Than Hiroshima

After two brutal US sieges of Fallujah, Iraq in 2004, something began happening to the babies. Birth defects spiked to 14 times the normal rate. Childhood cancer rates exceeded those seen in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Women in Fallujah began refusing to have children.

Studies by Iraqi and international researchers found elevated levels of uranium, lead, and mercury in hair and soil samples. The US military used depleted uranium ammunition and white phosphorus during the sieges. The Pentagon has never acknowledged responsibility. Fallujah's women — the ones who survived — now watch their children die of cancers that didn't exist before the Americans came.

Invisible Widows

The 7,000 post-9/11 war widows get some recognition — they at least receive a folded flag. But what about the wives of the 30,177 veterans who killed themselves? They receive no DIC. No folded flag. No gold star. The VA doesn't classify veteran suicide as a service-connected death unless the family fights for it — a process that can take years.

And what about the widows in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Libya, and Pakistan? The estimated 929,000 people killed in America's post-9/11 wars left behind millions of widows. They receive nothing from the country that killed their husbands. There is no DIC for the other side.