Innovations in investigating sexual and gender-based violence through private investigations

The widespread and systematic use of sexual and gender-based violence is a defining feature of the Syria and Iraq conflicts. CIJA Senior Advisor on sexual and gender-based violence, Stephanie Barbour, has contributed to a Special Issue of the Journal of International Criminal Justice dedicated to this critical theme entitled Justice and Accountability for Sexual Violence in Conflict: Progress and Challenges in National Efforts to Address Impunity. The expert contribution offers an unprecedented look at CIJA’s pioneering work on documenting and investigating sexual offences committed by the Syrian military and security apparatus and Islamic State. An invaluable resource for international justice practitioners, the article examines CIJA’s case-building strategy and outlines some of the innovations, good practices and lessons learned in response to challenges arising in sexual offence investigation, such as socio-cultural barriers to effective investigation of SGBV, the risk of creating SGBV silos, and ensuring the safety and wellbeing of national investigators.

The Special Issue – jointly presented by the Journal of International Criminal Justice and the UN Team of Experts on Rule of Law and Sexual Violence in Conflict – is published in commemoration of the tenth-year anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1888 (2009), which established the UN Team of Experts.

Reference: Stephanie Barbour, “Supporting Accountability for Sexual Violence in the Syria and Iraq Conflicts: Innovations, Good Practices, and Lessons Learned through Private Criminal Investigations”, Journal of International Criminal Justice, Volume 18, Issue 2, May 2020, Pages 397–423.