A Multifactorial Model of Wartime Rape

Sexual violence against women represents a horrifying social reality that continues to pervade contemporary war environments. The subject of wartime rape has gained increasing academic prominence since the mass rapes in the recent Bosnia–Herzegovina conflict. However, the current literature has paid little attention to the psychology of the offender; thus, the issue of wartime rape has remained perplexing. In response to some of the major shortcomings in the literature, namely a theoretical vacuum, this paper represents an integrative analysis of why soldiers rape in wartime. The examination of offender psychology through a variety of theoretical lenses enables an extensive analysis of individual, sociocultural, and situational variables that facilitate sexual aggression in wartime contexts. The incorporation of these variables into a comprehensive, multifactorial framework recognizes that wartime rape is a multidimensional phenomenon that has its roots in peacetime culture.