Forced pregnancy

Last updated

Forced pregnancy is the practice of forcefully impregnating a woman or girl without her consent. This act is often as part of a forced marriage, as part of a programme of breeding slaves, or as part of a programme of genocide. [1] Forced pregnancy is a form of reproductive coercion. [2]

Contents

Imperial Japan

Female prisoners of Unit 731 were forced to become pregnant for use in experiments. [3]

Bride kidnapping

The practices of bride kidnapping and forced marriage typically (with the exception of purely symbolic "bride kidnappings" which are actually consensual elopements) involve the rape of the "bride" with the intention of forcing her to become pregnant, putting her in a position where she becomes dependent on the rapist and his family and, because of cultural attitudes toward rape, unable to return to her own family. [4] In Kyrgyzstan, thousands of young girls and women are kidnapped every year to be forced into marriage. Although the practice was outlawed in 2013, bride kidnapping continues to exist, with destructive consequences for society. It is often referred to as a tradition, perceived as the obvious thing to do when the male is ready for marriage. [5] China is grappling with a pressing issue of bride trafficking. This predicament can be traced back to the country's historical one-child policy and the prevailing preference for male offspring, which have resulted in a significant gender imbalance. Consequently, numerous Chinese men are encountering challenges in their quest for life partners. Regrettably, due to security vulnerabilities within China, a distressing enterprise has arisen involving the trafficking of women and girls from neighboring nations. Over the years, the primary approach of the Chinese government has been to disregard the mounting accusations regarding the potential involvement of officials in these illicit activities. [6] [7] [8]

As a means of genocide

Rape, sexual slavery, and related actions including forced pregnancy, are now recognized under the Geneva Convention as crimes against humanity and war crimes; [9] in particular from 1949, Article 27 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and later also the 1977 Additional Protocols to the 1949 Geneva Conventions, explicitly prohibit wartime rape and enforced prostitution. The Rome Statute Explanatory Memorandum, which defines the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, recognises rape, sexual slavery, forced prostitution, and forced pregnancy as crimes against humanity if part of a widespread or systematic practice. [10] [11]

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda identified rape as capable of amounting to genocide when used systematically or on a mass scale to destroy a people; later the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia also categorized rape as capable of being a crime against humanity. In 2008 the U.N. Security Council's resolution 1820 identified such acts as capable of being "war crimes, crimes against humanity or ... genocide". [12] Despite these measures, rape, whether systematic or otherwise, remains widespread in conflict zones.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crimes against humanity</span> Serious crimes committed as part of a large-scale attack against civilians

Crimes against humanity are certain serious crimes committed as part of a large-scale attack against civilians. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity can be committed during both peace and war and against a state's own nationals as well as foreign nationals. Together with war crimes, genocide, and the crime of aggression, crimes against humanity are one of the core crimes of international criminal law, and like other crimes against international law have no temporal or jurisdictional limitations on prosecution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sexual slavery</span> Slavery with the intention of using the slaves for sex

Sexual slavery and sexual exploitation is an attachment of any ownership right over one or more people with the intent of coercing or otherwise forcing them to engage in sexual activities. This includes forced labor that results in sexual activity, forced marriage and sex trafficking, such as the sexual trafficking of children.

Sexual violence is any harmful or unwanted sexual act or attempt to obtain a sexual act by violence or coercion, act to traffic a person, regardless of the relationship to the victim. This includes forced engagement in sexual acts, attempted or completed acts and occurs without the consent of the victim. It occurs in times of peace and armed conflict situations, is widespread, and is considered to be one of the most traumatic, pervasive, and most common human rights violations.

The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children is a protocol to the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime. It is one of the three Palermo protocols, the others being the Protocol Against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air and the Protocol Against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forced marriage</span> Being married without consenting

Forced marriage is a marriage in which one or more of the parties is married without their consent or against their will. A marriage can also become a forced marriage even if both parties enter with full consent if one or both are later forced to stay in the marriage against their will.

Forced prostitution, also known as involuntary prostitution or compulsory prostitution, is prostitution or sexual slavery that takes place as a result of coercion by a third party. The terms "forced prostitution" or "enforced prostitution" appear in international and humanitarian conventions, such as the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, but have been inconsistently applied. "Forced prostitution" refers to conditions of control over a person who is coerced by another to engage in sexual activity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human trafficking in the Philippines</span>

Human trafficking and the prostitution of children has been a significant issue in the Philippines, often controlled by organized crime syndicates. Human trafficking is a crime against humanity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Estimates of sexual violence</span>

Surveys of victims of crime have been undertaken in many cities and countries, using a common methodology to aid comparability, and have generally included questions on sexual violence. The United Nations has conducted extensive surveys to determine the level of sexual violence in different societies. According to these studies, the percentage of women reporting having been a victim of sexual assault ranges from less than 2% in places such as La Paz, Bolivia (1.4%), Gaborone, Botswana (0.8%), Beijing, China (1.6%), and Manila, Philippines (0.3%), to 5% or more in Istanbul, Turkey (6.0%), Buenos Aires, Argentina (5.8%), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (8.0%), and Bogota, Colombia (5.0%).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human trafficking</span> Trade of humans for exploitation

Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation.

Human trafficking in Canada is prohibited by law, and is considered a criminal offence whether it occurs entirely within Canada or involves the "transporting of persons across Canadian borders. Public Safety Canada (PSC) defines human trafficking as "the recruitment, transportation, harbouring and/or exercising control, direction or influence over the movements of a person in order to exploit that person, typically through sexual exploitation or forced labour. It is often described as a modern form of slavery."

An atrocity crime is a violation of international criminal law that falls under the historically three legally defined international crimes of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Ethnic cleansing is widely regarded as a fourth mass atrocity crime by legal scholars and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in the field, despite not yet being recognized as an independent crime under international law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human trafficking in China</span>

China is a main source and also a significant transit and destination country for men, women, and children who are subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labour and forced prostitution. Women and children from China are trafficked to Africa, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and North America, predominantly Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, and Japan for commercial sexual exploitation and forced labour. Women and children from Myanmar, Vietnam, Mongolia, former USSR, North Korea, Romania, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, and Ghana are trafficked to China for commercial sexual exploitation and forced labour.

The term international framework of sexual violence refers to the collection of international legal instruments – such as treaties, conventions, protocols, case law, declarations, resolutions and recommendations – developed in the 20th and 21st century to address the problem of sexual violence. The framework seeks to establish and recognise the right all human beings to not experience sexual violence, to prevent sexual violence from being committed wherever possible, to punish perpetrators of sexual violence, and to provide care for victims of sexual violence. The standards set by this framework are intended to be adopted and implemented by governments around the world in order to protect their citizens against sexual violence.

During the Sierra Leone Civil War gender specific violence was widespread. Rape, sexual slavery and forced marriages were commonplace during the conflict. It has been estimated by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) that up to 257,000 women were victims of gender related violence during the war. The majority of assaults were carried out by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF). The Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), The Civil Defence Forces (CDF), and the Sierra Leone Army (SLA) have also been implicated in sexual violence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of sexual slavery in the United States</span>

The history of sexual slavery in the United States is the history of slavery for the purpose of sexual exploitation as it exists in the United States.

.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sexual slavery in China</span>

Sexual slavery in China is sexual exploitation and slavery that occurs in the People's Republic of China.

Sex trafficking in Myanmar is human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation and slavery that occurs in the Republic of the Union of Myanmar. Myanmar is primarily a source and transit country for sexually trafficked persons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sex trafficking in Vietnam</span>

Sex trafficking in Vietnam is human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation and slavery that occurs in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Vietnam is a source and, to a lesser extent, destination country for sexually trafficked persons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sex trafficking in Kazakhstan</span>

Sex trafficking in Kazakhstan is human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation and slavery that occurs in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

References

  1. ↑ "Forced pregnancy: a commentary on the crime in international criminal law" (PDF). Amnesty International. 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-05-26. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  2. ↑ "Forced pregnancy" means the unlawful confinement of a woman forcibly made pregnant, with the intent of affecting the ethnic composition of any population or carrying out other grave violations of international law. This definition shall not in any way be interpreted as affecting national laws relating to pregnancy; Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, 17 July 1998
  3. ↑ Gold, Hal (2011). Unit 731 Testimony (1st ed.). New York: Tuttle Pub. pp. 157–158. ISBN   978-1462900824.
  4. ↑ "Footage of 'bride kidnappings' makes for truly disturbing viewing". NewsComAu. 2017-11-17. Retrieved 2019-11-23.
  5. ↑ Department Of State. The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affairs (2008-03-11). "Kyrgyz Republic". 2001-2009.state.gov. Retrieved 2019-11-23.
  6. ↑ "China's Bride Trafficking Problem | Human Rights Watch". 2019-10-31. Retrieved 2023-10-04.
  7. ↑ Beech, Hannah (2019-08-17). "Teenage Brides Trafficked to China Reveal Ordeal: 'Ma, I've Been Sold'". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-10-04.
  8. ↑ "China's Trafficked Brides". thediplomat.com. Retrieved 2023-10-04.
  9. ↑ "Geneva Conventions as Discussed in Rape Crime". Britannica.com. Retrieved 2012-09-07.
  10. ↑ As quoted by Guy Horton in Dying Alive – A Legal Assessment of Human Rights Violations in Burma April 2005, co-Funded by The Netherlands Ministry for Development Co-Operation. See section "12.52 Crimes against humanity", Page 201. He references RSICC/C, Vol. 1 p. 360
  11. ↑ "Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court". legal.un.org. Retrieved 2013-10-18.
  12. ↑ "Security Council Demands Immediate and Complete Halt to Acts of Sexual Violence Against Civilians in Conflict Zones, Unanimously Adopting Resolution 1820 (2008)". UN.org. Retrieved 2012-09-07.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.