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Sexual Violence and Armed Conflict (LAWS70461)
Graduate coursework level 7Points: 12.5Not available in 2021
Please refer to the return to campus page for more information on these delivery modes and students who can enrol in each mode based on their location.
Overview
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It is rare today to hear of an armed conflict in which there is not some discussion of the extent to which one or both sides of the conflict has engaged in sexual violence. Over the past 20 years, international NGOs and institutions alike have paid significant attention to sexual violence in conflict. They have attempted to address it through international humanitarian and criminal law, United Nations Security Council resolutions, and even international military intervention. This subject will critically consider the deployment of these various legal mechanisms to address sexual violence, and will consider some of the assumptions about sexual violence and international law that animate them. Because initially women’s human rights advocates were behind much of the advocacy, it will also consider the various views of feminism and gender that have become mainstreamed through their appeals to the strong arm of the State and of powerful international governmental alliances to bring an end to sexual violence. The lecturer, Professor Karen Engle has been academically engaged with these issues quite extensively over the past two decades.
Principal topics will include:
- Historical regulation of rape by international humanitarian law
- The history of the women’s human rights movement’s prioritisation of and engagement with the treatment of sexual violence in conflict
- The mobilisation of the occurrence of sexual violence to call for various forms of international intervention
- The international criminal legal treatment of sexual violence in conflict
- How might international law and politics respond to the perception that sexual violence is inherently shameful?
Intended learning outcomes
A student who has successfully completed this subject will:
- Have a critical understanding of the international legal treatment of sexual violence in conflict.
- Be able to assess the interplay between the legal regimes applicable to war-time violence more broadly, in particular human rights law, international humanitarian law and international criminal law.
- Have a highly developed understanding of the key theoretical and political debates among advocates and policy-makers with regard to the treatment of sexual violence in conflict, including among feminists.
- Be able to assess some of the unintended consequences of the international legal treatment of sexual violence in conflict, and consider alternative creative and effective responses to the violations.
Last updated: 12 November 2022
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
None
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
None
Recommended background knowledge
Applicants without legal qualifications should note that subjects are offered in the discipline of law at an advanced graduate level. While every effort will be made to meet the needs of students trained in other fields, concessions will not be made in the general level of instruction or assessment. Most subjects assume the knowledge usually acquired in a degree in law (LLB, JD or equivalent). Applicants should note that admission to some subjects in the Melbourne Law Masters will be dependent upon the individual applicant’s educational background and professional experience.
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 12 November 2022
Assessment
Description | Timing | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Class presentation | 20% | |
Research paper on a topic approved by the subject coordinator
| 80% |
Last updated: 12 November 2022
Dates & times
Not available in 2021
Time commitment details
The pre-teaching period commences four weeks before the subject commencement date. From this time, students are expected to access and review the Reading Guide that will be available from the LMS subject page and the subject materials provided by the subject coordinator, which will be available from Melbourne Law School. Refer to the Reading Guide for confirmation of which resources need to be read and what other preparation is required before the teaching period commences.
Additional delivery details
This subject has a quota of 30 students. Please refer to the Melbourne Law Masters website for further information about the management of subject quotas and waitlists.
Last updated: 12 November 2022
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
Core subject materials will be provided free of charge to all students. Some subjects require further texts to be purchased. Details regarding any prescribed texts will be provided prior to the commencement of the subject.
- Related Handbook entries
This subject contributes to the following:
- Links to additional information
law.unimelb.edu.au
- Available through the Community Access Program
About the Community Access Program (CAP)
This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
Additional information for this subject
If required, please contact law-admissions@unimelb.edu.au for subject coordinator approval.
- Available to Study Abroad and/or Study Exchange Students
This subject is available to students studying at the University from eligible overseas institutions on exchange and study abroad. Students are required to satisfy any listed requirements, such as pre- and co-requisites, for enrolment in the subject.
Last updated: 12 November 2022