The “neutrality” of the war crime of rape in International Criminal Law

Abstract

In the case against Jean Pierre Bemba, the International Criminal Court established that the elements of the war crime of rape are gender neutral. The present article seeks to prove whether that assessment is correct. With that objective, the analysis will be based on the regulation of the notion of gender under the Rome Statute, but, especially, under International Law in general, as well as its development within doctrine. The article therefore aims at shedding some light into the experiences of LGBT people in relation to sexual violence in the context of an armed conflict.