Sexual violence has proven to be associated with sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). We examined the association between sexual violence and self-reported STIs (SR-STIs) among women in sexual unions in 15 sub-Saharan African countries. This was a cross-sectional study involving the analysis of data from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) from 15 countries in SSA. A total sample of 65,392 women in sexual unions were included in the final analysis. A multilevel binary logistic regression analysis was carried out and the results were presented using adjusted odds ratios (aOR) at 95% Confidence Interval (CI). Women who experienced sexual violence in the last 12 months were more likely to self-report STIs compared to those who did not experience sexual violence [aOR = 1.76, 95% CI = 1.59-1.94]. Compared to women in Angola, those who were in Mali, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Uganda, and Liberia were more likely to self-report STIs while those in Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Ethiopia, Malawi, Rwanda, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe were less likely to self-report STIs. The study has revealed variations in the country level regarding the prevalence of sexual violence and SR-STI in the last 12 months among women in sexual unions in the selected countries. This study has demostrated that sexual violence in the last 12 months is associated with SR-STIs among women in sexual unions. Moreover, factors that predict SR-STIs were observed in this study. Policymakers and agencies that matter could consider the factors identified in this study when designing policies or strengthening existing ones to tackle STIs among women in SSA. To accelerate the progress towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 3, its imperative efforts and interventions must be intensified in SSA to reduce sexual violence which will go a long way to reduce SR-STIs among women.

A key curiosity animating this article concerns how sexual violence is theorised. The work of feminist scholars has been crucial in unearthing ways in which women's traditionally demeaned bodies regularly materialised as ‘easy targets’ for such violence. The gift of the concept of gender has played a significant role in facilitating the production of this corpus of knowledge. Less noticed in the literature, in policy and legislation has been sexual violence against men – an egregious omission. Yet it seems that redeploying the concept of gender to make sense of sexual violence against men and elevate this violence into the realms of theoretical and legislative attention is not straightforward. Identifying feminist work as in part responsible for the rendering of sexual violence against men as too ‘unseen’ in theory provoked my attention, though it's not that I place feminist theory as ‘innocent’ or infallible – far from it. In this article I unpack some of the complexities around theorising sexual politics in Global Politics turning towards the aesthetics of feminist thinking to help reconsider the way connections take shape between gender, sex and violence. Underpinning this discussion are questions about feminist intentions to transform patriarchal and colonial structures and institutions.

The emergence of new interactions, notably those online, has led to the parallel development of criminal behaviors—not all of which are captured by the current legal framework. This article addresses the challenge posed to criminal law by the emergence of technologically facilitated violence, specifically its sexualized online forms. In particular, it argues for cautious yet specific criminalization of violent behaviors online whilst considering the broader criminal liabilities of all actors involved in the facilitation and perpetration of digital sexual violence. This article draws upon national—contentious—examples of attempts to regulate disruptive sexual violence perpetrated through digital means, with particular attention given to provisions in the UK, Germany, and France.

In recent years, no area of criminal law has received more public attention than the laws on sexual violence. Discussions about the need for reforms have exhibited a mobilizing force extending far beyond the legal community. From a legal perspective, these discussions concern intricate normative questions regarding the content of the right to sexual autonomy and the suitability of the consent paradigm to establish the limitations of its protection under criminal law. At the same time, they ultimately concern the question of gender-related societal power hierarchies. Acknowledging these broader socio-political dimensions allows us to comprehend the highly contentious manner in which this debate is often conducted. This Special Issue attempts to analyze from a transnational perspective both the fundamental legal and socio-political questions in the current discussions on sexual violence and criminal justice. A recurring theme is the question as to whether criminal law can be used not only as an instrument of repressive social control, but also as a means of power-critical – even emancipatory – social policy.

Whether in Germany or abroad, victims of sexual violence typically played only a minor part in criminal proceedings, serving primarily as witnesses due to the widespread public and objective nature of the trial.1 This led to victim disempowerment and a paternalistic method of State protection of victims.2 During the last decades, this perception underwent major changes in European legal systems, owing to a rising awareness of victim’s needs, especially in cases of sexual violence.3 International and European conventions and treaties played a major role4 by establishing an international regulatory framework. To implement those international standards, domestic criminal laws have changed significantly on both substantive and procedural levels. Today, Germany’s criminal procedure law contains many mechanisms for protecting victims. Nevertheless, in cases of sexual violence, the implementation of these mechanisms in criminal proceedings leaves much to desire due to the affect of gender stereotypes and rape myths. This Article argues that in these cases the law in action ultimately fails to meet international requirements.

Many countries are in the process of replacing outdated sex offense regulations with laws that accurately correspond to late modern ideas about gender equality, sexual self-determination, and consensual sex. One example is Sweden, where a law that defines rape based on a criterion of nonvoluntary participation entered into force in 2018. This article analyzes the representation of rape in the new law and legal discourse in Sweden, and shows that rape is represented as a matter of choice and communication in sexual situations. Further, the new rape law is coupled to an emerging problem within such disparate spheres as public health, social media campaigns, sexual education, and gender studies; namely, the problem of sexual communication and gray zones in sexual encounters. To understand this new representation of rape, further exploration is suggested both into the effects of sexual violence being framed as a matter of individual choice, consent, and communication in late modernity and into the role of criminal law in the era of thin normativity. The article concludes that the new rape law sends a clear message about what sex should be—namely, something voluntary—but does not accurately describe the crime and the conduct that deserves criminal censure.

The adoption of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) was widely lauded as a success with regard to the recognition and potential prosecution of conflict-related sexual violence. More than twenty years later, however, many observers are disillusioned with the ICC’s dire track record concerning the implementation of its progressive legal framework. In many cases, the Court and particularly its Prosecutor have been criticized for failing to adequately address and prioritize sexual violence, culminating in only a single final conviction since 2002. Nevertheless, the ICC’s emerging practice shows progress with regard to the conceptual understanding of conflict-related sexual violence and the realization of the Statute’s full potential in ensuring accountability for sexual crimes. Taking into account the evolving jurisprudence, the Article explores the persisting challenges and the perceived gap between aspirations and reality regarding the prosecution of sexual violence at the ICC.

This Article is based on the professional experiences of the authors working as lawyers and activists towards accountability for sexualized and gender-based crimes under international law. It provides a critical evaluation of universal jurisdiction cases in Germany addressing conflict-related sexualized violence. In particular, the article looks deeper into the Office of the German Federal Prosecutor General of the Federal Court of Justice’s (GBA) approach to gender while taking note of the barriers in the way of investigating and adjudicating crimes under international law. Both authors have been following universal jurisdiction developments in Germany closely, particularly in relation to the investigation and prosecution of sexual and gender-based crimes. With regard to the proceedings against two high-rank representatives of the armed rebel group Forces Démocratiques de liberation du Rwanda (FDLR), the findings in this article are informed by trial monitoring reports organized and conducted by a group of organisations and institutions, namely Medica Mondiale, the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), and the Hamburger Institut für Sozialforschung. In light of the fact that German trial records are absent of publicly accessible records of what was said in the court room, the consortium of groups co-monitored the FLDR trial.