Date of Award

12-2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Institute on Family and Community Life

Committee Chair/Advisor

Professor, Prof.dr. Mark Small

Committee Member

Professor, Prof.dr. Susan Limber

Committee Member

Professor, Prof.dr. Bonnie Holaday

Committee Member

Professor, Prof.dr. Remzie Istrefi

Abstract

This study examines the impact of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Kosovo, situating these harms within the broader context of the conflicts in the Former Yugoslavia. It explores the gender-specific consequences of the wars, particularly the disproportionate targeting of women and girls through various forms of sexual violence. Such sexual acts, including rape, were not formally recognized as international crimes until the establishment of the ad hoc international criminal tribunals, most notably the ICTY and ICTR, and later the ICC.

The study assesses how the three most affected states adopted, implemented, or failed to implement domestic legal frameworks aligned with international standards, and the extent to which they effectively prosecuted or failed to prosecute perpetrators at the national level.
In order to ensure effectiveness, the study employs two theoretical lenses, the feminist legal theory and universal jurisdiction. A feminist jurisprudential approach underscores the importance of survivor-centred legal processes, gender-sensitive interviewing practices, recognition of survivor agency, the challenge of structural inequalities, the validation of trauma without imposing excessive evidentiary burdens, and awareness of the multiple layers of harm inflicted on victims. The doctrine of universal jurisdiction, highlighting its capacity to classify CRSV as an international crime prosecutable irrespective of the location where it occurred.

By applying these two perspectives, the study argues that many under-prosecuted and under-reported instances of CRSV in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Kosovo could be more effectively addressed through international mechanisms and applying the two theoretical lenses. Such an approach would advance accountability and prosecute more perpetrators of CRSV crimes, and also embed feminist principles into the legal recognition and adjudication.

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