Reforming Retributive Justice: Supporting Victims of Wartime Sexual Violence at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia

Abstract

This study identifies areas of improvement for the ICTY. Qualitative analyses of ICTY trial transcripts reveal that victims of wartime sexual violence were questioned in court in an invasive way that presented the potential for re-traumatization. To combat this, this ICTY would have benefitted from a more victim-centric model that draws from the practices of restorative justice. This study also highlights the strides that the ICTY made in providing effective justice for male CRSV victims. A quantitative analysis determined that male victims are far more likely to testify at the ICTY. This development may be explained by the fact that the ICTY had more expansive definitions of rape and sexual violence than national courts and was less likely to unintentionally expose the identity of protected witnesses or subject witnesses to possible safety risks.