Women as Victims of War

The outcome of war is always tragic; it is a threat to physiological and psychological well-being, it threatens human rights and human values of all, and it falls heavily on women. This entry discusses the way in which structural gender inequalities impact women in war time. It then describes the forms violence against women can take in the context of armed conflict, including rape, sexual slavery, HIV exposure, and domestic violence. It concludes with a discussion of ways in which international organizations have addressed these problems and attempted to promote recovery, reconstruction, and reconciliation.