Sexual Violence Crimes and Gendered Power Relations: Bringing Justice to Women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo - Paperback

by Bilge Sahin (Author)

This book provides a robust gendered analysis and establishes a feminist approach to international actors' responses to sexual violence crimes in conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the impact of these global political practices on local gendered power relations.

Sexual violence crimes in eastern DRC have received significant global attention and triggered calls by the international community to end this violence. This book critically assesses international assistance to the Congolese legal system to challenge sexual violence crimes, to determine to what extent it engages with the continuum of gendered violence from peacetime to conflict. It also examines whether international assistance has produced any transformations in gendered power relations in eastern DRC. The author investigates how challenging sexual violence crimes in conflict necessitates broader female empowerment and engagement with gendered power relations.

This book will be of interest to scholars and postgraduate students in gender studies, development studies and international relations. It will also provide significant guidance for professionals working for development agencies and international NGOs focusing on eastern DRC.

Author Biography

Bilge Sahin has degrees from Ankara University, Turkey (BA and MA) and SOAS University of London, UK (MA and PhD). Her academic work critically engages with gendered issues in international security and international law, and feminist theory with particular focus on East Africa. Her work has been published in peer-reviewed academic journals.

Currently, she is a Lecturer in the International Relations Department at Bolu Abant Izzet Baysal University, Turkey. She is also a Research Associate in the Department of Development Studies at SOAS University of London, UK.

In addition to her academic work, she has experience advising university projects, governmental institutions and law firms on matters related to the DRC.