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GENDER, SHAME AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE: THE VOICES OF WITNESSES AND COURT MEMBERS AT WAR CRIMES TRIBUNALS BY SARA SHARRATT (FARNHAM, UK: ASHGATE, 2011) 196 PAGES. PRICE £55.00 (HARDCOVER) ISBN 9781409419990.
Although the concept of the rule of law is inextricably tied to the promotion of human rights, there remain serious questions about the law's ability to give or bring about justice after mass atrocity. Successive generations of women both domestically and internationally have highlighted the problems they face when they encounter the justice system as victims and witnesses. Although equality before the law is an integral component of the rule of law,1 it is not clear that those within the justice sector have given sufficient thought to this fundamental precept or the effect it should have on the manner in which criminal trials are conducted or the rules of evidence and procedure that govern their operation.2 Articles by academics and materials compiled by non-governmental organisations have documented both the failure of the international legal system to deal adequately with crimes committed against women3 and the barriers women face when they are in fact asked to participate in criminal proceedings that include charges of sexual violence.4
Further complicating this issue is the ever present tension between the law and justice. Justice is an intangible idea and the meanings attributed to it are delineated by speakers in accordance with their background. When a lawyer speaks of justice he or she is often referring to accountability through the legal system. When a victim or a human rights advocate refers to justice, the meaning they associate with the term is broader. It encompasses:
the restoration of [the victim's] dignity ... reaffirmation of [the survivor's] value as [a] human [being], obtaining assurances that the larger community understands the impact [the crimes] have had on [the survivor's life], and knowing that the perpetrators have been punished. It is also about being part of a process that empowers rather than dehumanises [the survivor].5
The experiences of women who have testified before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia ('ICTY') and the War Crimes Chamber of the Court of Bosnia-Herzegovina ('WCC') demonstrate the disjuncture that exists between the victim's perception of whether or not they have received justice and the understanding...