Sexual Violence in Time of War: Sexuality, Ethnicity and Gender Diversity in the Wars in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1991–95

The main goal of this doctoral project is to study the ways in which sexuality, ethnicity and gender were embedded in the use of sexual violence as a weapon in the Bosnian wars of 1991–95, and how perceptions of these factors have changed as a result. In order to achieve this goal, it is necessary to examine how ethnic dimensions of the conflict interacted with gender paradigms. The primary research methods of the project are empirical fieldwork, literature studies and interviews. The project will investigate: (1) ways in which men and women were subject to sexual violence during the wars from 1991 to 1995; (2) how the use of sexual violence was based on ethnicity, heterosexuality and homosexuality; and (3) how the use of sexual violence during the wars has challenged or reaffirmed gender paradigms in the wake of the conflicts. The output of this project will be four scholarly articles for international publication.