In many conflict regions, women and girls continue to be at high risk of becoming victims of rape by armed combatants, whether local or foreign militaries, rebel groups or peace keeping forces. The physical and psychological repercussions of CRSV against women and their families can be long-lasting and far-reaching (Bosmans, 2007); and it is by no accident that sexual violence is now widely referred to as a ‘weapon of war’ (Clifford, 2008) or an ‘act of terrorism’ (United Nations, 2017). Very often, social taboos dictate that victims of sexual violence be seen as unclean, spoiled or unfaithful, which can lead to social isolation and stigmatisation (Albutt, Kelly, Kabanga, & VanRooyen, 2016). Injuries and trauma from sexual violence may also raise the concern that women are not be able to work, perform household chores or care for children; effectively diminishing their perceived ‘worth’ (Glass, Ramazani, Tosha, Mpanano, & Cinyabuguma, 2012). Depression and other mental illnesses may create further barriers with family and friends and diminish participation in wider community life (Betancourt, Agnew-Blais, Gilman, Williams, & Eliis, 2010). Raising a child born from CRSV can add to this burden, and these dyads may face further barriers to secure attachments. This may arise as a result of a mother’s own emotion dysregulation following the trauma of sexual violence or indeed ambivalence towards their child as a result of his/her conception. Such dyadic victimhood may also be compounded by migration and assimilation into a new culture. And yet, women do not (always) see themselves as victims, many women seem themselves as brave and courageous (Medica Zenica & medica mondiale, 2014). Many are able to achieve growth in spite of their experiences. The overarching aim of this dissertation is to contribute to the discourse on the myriad psychosocial outcomes of conflict-related sexual violence for survivors, by systematically exploring areas of difficulty and areas of perceived strength and combining mixed methodologies. It is built on the foundation of multiple intertwining areas of global mental health and explored several of these within two different contexts: being a mother, being a survivor. Using the evidence generated through this dissertation, recommendations for addressing their needs have been provided.:Foreword 4 Introduction 5 Background & Context 6 Outcomes of CRSV Against Women: Being a Mother, Being a Survivor 8 Aims & Objectives 12 Research Questions 12 Core Publications of this Dissertation 13 Chapter I: Being a Mother 14 Methodology 15 Publication I 21 Publication II 36 Chapter II: Being a Survivor 57 Methodology 58 Publication III 63 A Dual Model of Posttraumatic Stress and Posttraumatic Growth in Survivors of Sexual Violence 76 Publication IV 77 Discussion 103 Summary of Findings 104 Strengths and Limitations 107 Conclusion 108 Future directions 111 Recommendations 113 Thesis References 134 Appendices 141 1. Abbreviations 142 2. Zusammenfassung 143 3. This dissertation is based on the following publications 145 4. Presentation of own contribution 146 6. Curriculum Vitae 148 7. Publication List 149 8. Certificate of Good Scientific Practice 151 9. Acknowledgements 152

The Democratic Republic of Congo is a country that has a violent and long history as a european colony and has since then been affected by recurrent interethnic conflicts between different armed groups. In these interethnic conflicts, armed actors have used sexual violence against women and girls as a weapon of war. Based on the social constructivism theory, this study aims to identify underlaying historical and colonial factors that could explain conflict- related sexual violence against women and girls in present interethnic conflicts in the country. The purpose is furthermore to explain why women and girls are subjected to conflict-related sexual violence to a great extent and why the sexual violence continues. The study concludes that social interactions between individuals and the social context where it occurs helps to explain conflict-related sexual violence against women and girls in present interethnic conflicts in the country. Sexual violence against women and girls can be explained as an instrument of power that has been used by armed actors to promote their own interests, which has been done in similar ways since the colonial era. Sexual violence against women and girls can also be explained as a social construction that has been created as a result of the power relationship that exists between men and women. Furthermore, sexual violence against women and girls still occurs to a great extent because it continues to be used as an instrument of power and because of armed groups perception about women and girls worth in the Congolese society.

This thesis explores the underlying assumptions guiding the United Nations’ activities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo with regard to conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV). The purpose is to reveal how the organization’s ‘End Impunity’ narrative represents the problem of CRSV and to analyze the ideational premises that legitimize the solution of increased accountability and prosecution. This thesis conducts a qualitative discourse analysis inspired by the ‘What’s the Problem Represented to be’ approach to analyze the implicit content of the narrative’s key policy texts. The results show that the narrative problematizes the inability of the Congolese judiciary to prosecute perpetrators, the disregard of legislation prohibiting sexual violence and the lack of justice provided to survivors of these crimes. These problematizations are reliant on assumptions of the rationality of perpetrators of sexual violence, as well as the universality of the Western human rights norm and ‘modern’ institutions. The findings suggest that the UN represents the problem of CRSV to be a problem of law and weak legal institutions in the DRC. Whilst this could be contingent on the ‘collapsed nature’ of the Congolese state, this thesis argues that as the DRC is a central case in the UN’s efforts to fight CRSV, the results of the analysis can be applied to the wider population of countries affected by conflict and sexual violence.

CRSV is a tragic consequence of war. Armed actors abuse civilians to varied degrees in different strategic settings breaching international humanitarian laws. Towards this end, international legal interventions are a widely accepted response. Therefore, making it the first of its kind, this study systematically researches whether international criminal indictments can deter CRSV, committed by state and non-state actors. This large-N analysis considers the period of 1990-2019 and test the short- and long-term effects of indictments on CRSV levels. My original global dataset which includes all indictments tried by ICTY, ICTR and ICC, enabled this research. While the proposed primary hypothesis expects a decrease in the CRSV levels following indictments, the counter hypothesis expects an increase. The evidence regarding the beneficial impacts of indictments is fairly clear. However, the results suggest that the deterrent impact is not durable. The long-term effect of indictments on CRSV levels is found to be counterproductive. The effect holds the same trend for the tested causal-mechanism. Weak enforcement mechanisms and limited judicial capacity of the ICTs can be challenging the deterrence. The implications of this study are central for policymakers seeking to counter civilian suffering in conflicts through international responses and thereby establish peace and justice.

The aim of this thesis is to observe and analyze the effects of religious dimensions in armed conflict on violence against civilians. Focusing on rebel groups in intra-state conflicts, quantitative statistical analysis in form of Ordinary Least Squares multivariate regression, is utilized to examine data onreligious wars, one-sided violence, and conflict-related sexual violence. Two hypotheses are formulatedand tested; that (1) higher significance of religion in armed conflict leads to higher levels of one-sidedviolence, as well as that (2) higher significance of religion leads to higher levels of conflict-related sexual violence. The results, relying on four different datasets and 1107 observations, empirically support both hypotheses. The conclusion of this thesis suggests that civilians are found to be particularly vulnerable in religious armed conflict, pointing to the importance and urgency of further and closer examination of civilian victimization in these types of wars.

The aim of this study is to gain an understanding of if and how specific UN actors and non-governmental organizations (NGO) embody intersectionality in their communication on conflict-related sexual violence. By utilizing four different Instagram accounts, UN-owned End Rape in War and UN Action, and two NGO accounts Global Survivors Fund and Mukwege Foundation as case studies and applying critical content analysis on them, the study seeks to scrutinize if and how its data embodies elements of intersectional feminism. As gender-based violence against women and girls has gained increasing attention amonginternational organizations and governments, this study stresses the importance of addressingexperiences of all genders experiencing sexual violence in conflict settings. Based on these findings, the study highlights the need for more intersectional and inclusive communication regarding survivors of conflict-related sexual violence. By recognizing the wide gender scope of conflict-related sexual violence survivors in their communications, organizations such as the UN do not only educate the general public on the topic, but also affect policies that can better prevent and protect all people, especially LGBTQ persons and other sexual minorities, from experiencing conflict-related sexual violence.

Various studies have shown the difficulty for peacekeeping missions to combat conflict-related sexual violence, including the abuse within their own ranks. Both policymakers and academics advocate for the inclusion of civil society in peacekeeping missions claiming that this can aid peacekeepers in this endeavour. However, there are no large-N studies examining this relationship. In this thesis, I aim to fill this gap by asking the research question: What impact does civil society have on peacekeeping missions’ ability to combat conflict-related sexual violence? I theorise that civil society inclusion can help reduce sexual violence by increasing knowledge of the local conflict dynamics and assisting with concrete projects. The theoretical argument is captured in two hypotheses where 1) civil society presence, and 2) broad peacekeeping mandates are two determinants of whether sexual violence likelihood will decrease. Using a sample of United Nations peacekeeping missions between 1991-2019 I test both hypotheses using logistic regression. The overall results generate weak support for the hypotheses. Nonetheless, there is an indication that combining civil society with broad mandates decreases the likelihood of government-perpetrated sexual violence. I conclude that more research must be dedicated to preventing future victims of war’s oldest crime.

Following paper examines how conflicting interests inside the UN organisation can be identified in the UN:s policy output regarding conflict-related violence (CRSV) and sexual exploitation and abuse by UN-personnel (SEA). The study applies former criticism against SEA, regarding nuance and an individualistic approach, on UN resolutions from both policy areas in a structured, focused comparisons. The purpose is to analyse if there are any differences regarding the framing of violence, its causes and where responsibility can be placed. Furthermore, the differences that are detected are then analysed and explained through a theoretical framework consisting of theories regarding framing and legitimating strategies. The analysis shows that resolutions regarding CRSV are more nuanced and connected to broader structures such as gender discrimination. Resolutions regarding SEA are more focused on the individual perpetrator. The differences identified in the comparison is then understood through the organisational interest of preserving legitimacy, where “means-end-decoupling” can be detected as a strategy used in SEA resolutions to legitimate the UN organisation.

Sexual violence is a well-known phenomenon in armed conflicts. The international attention from scholars and policymakers has substantially expanded during the last decades, but until today a comprehensive understanding of the circumstances that generate this violence is absent. This causes difficulties in the policy rhetoric of the issue, as well as in the development of effective measures to prevent and combat conflict-related sexual violence in current conflicts. This study aims to explore and identify circumstances related to the use of sexual violence by armed groups, and by state forces in particular. The overall purpose is to contribute to an understanding of why state forces commit sexual violence in some armed conflicts and not in others. An analytical framework is created based on existing theoretical concepts and explanations to the varying frequency of sexual violence. Based on this, five hypotheses of possible correlated conditions are created. These conditional factors are: 1) Rule of Law, 2) Other Violence, 3) Ethnic Conflict, 4) Gender Equality, and 5) International Support. The hypotheses are translated into macro-level variables that are systematically applied and compared between ten cases of armed conflicts, five of which have high levels of sexual violence committed by state forces, respectively five with no reports of sexual violence committed by state forces. This is done by a cross-national comparison using descriptive statistics. Four hypotheses are to a varying degree strengthened by this study and the result suggests that sexual violence committed by state forces is more likely to occur; in conflicts with low levels of rule of law; in ethnic conflicts; in conflicts with high levels of other violence, and; in absence of international support. The anticipation is that the results of this study will provide a platform for further conclusive research of casual factors to conflict-related sexual violence.

abstract: A growing body of literature has sought to explain the nature and effects of conflict-related sexualized violence. However, a critical problem that persists concerns why wartime rape varies both within and across conflicts. Political science literature mainly addresses these questions of variation in sexualized violence through group-level or structural explanations. Yet, clear patterns of combatant non-participation in conflict-related sexualized violence is apparent, even in cases where sexual violence is severe and pervasive. What allows one combatant to refrain, while another combatant, even within the same combat unit, perpetrates sexualized violence? In this dissertation, I argue that critical differences concerning attitudes, beliefs, and motivations exist between individual combatants. In light of these differences, I reintroduce the individual combatant onto the theoretical map as a critical unit of analysis and I explore the implications of gender inequality as an important and relevant factor related to sexualized violence in political conflict. Drawing on findings from social psychology, political psychology, sociology, and political science, the theory developed argues that combatants differentially internalize important norms related to gender that become particularly activated based on primarily externalized contextual influences. To test the theory, I conduct a mixed-method, sub-national comparative analysis of combatants and attitudes and beliefs associated with gender inequality during the Bosnian War (1992 – 1995). I rely on qualitative data generated from semi-structured, comprehensive interviews with psychologists, victim’s advocates, and legal experts managing sexual violence war crimes cases, and combat veterans directly associated with the Bosnian War (1992 – 1995) to assess differences at the individual-level of analysis. To additionally determine the broader effects of gender inequality, I employ an ordered probit regression analysis to ascertain the relationship between gender inequality related to institutional health and education factors and the severity of wartime rape. The combined results of these analyses demonstrate that individual differences between combatants better predicts the likelihood of a combatant to commit sexualized violence compared to structural or institutional accounts alone. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Political Science 2019