We will teach you a lesson : A qualitative study on militarized masculinity and the use of sexual violence in armed conflict

Sammanfattning: This paper will focus on articulating and arguing for the intricate relationship between militarized masculinity in ethno-nation conflicts and the use of conflict related sexual violence (CRSV). While previous research has been done on the topic of interest. The aim is to further elaborate on the topic and also provide an explanation for a rather understudied aspect of CRSV. Which is the use of sexual violence against men and how it is just as gendered in nature as the use of sexual violence against women. This paper will aim to answer the following question: To what extent and in what ways does militarized masculinity result in the use of sexual violence in armed conflict? I will be using the structured focus comparisons method (SFC) in order to study two cases of interest that vary in their use of CRSV. The results suggest that while one party built their ethnic identity surrounding violent masculine ideals the other aimed for a gender equal nationalist movement. The variation in their views and behavior resulted in the extensive use of CRSV by one party and the general absence of CRSV by the other.