International: Amnesty publishes new report on rape, sexual violence, and the ICC

In this new document, Amnesty International presents the case for incorporating human rights laws and standards in the prosecution of rape and sexual violence in international and national courts. In particular, the International Criminal Court (ICC) must do so as a requirement of its own statute.

It states, "Acts of rape which are committed in the jurisdiction of the Court can be identified as war crimes and crimes against humanity of rape and torture. The requirement in human rights law to eradicate stereotypes requires all acts of rape within the jurisdiction of the court to be prosecuted as torture, in order to address stereotypical assumptions that rape, particularly rape of women and girls, is not a serious crime, and to acknowledge and make clear the perpetrators' use of rape and sexual violence to intimidate, discriminate, and humiliate victims" (6-7).

The full report can be read here.