Banwell, Stacy ORCID: 0000-0001-7395-2617 (2024) Rape, forced pregnancy and sexual violence: can the Geneva conventions be applied to the war against nonhuman animals? In: British Society of Criminology Conference 2024, 10-12 Jul 2024, Glasgow, United Kingdom. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

Adopting the Clausewitzean (1968) argument that the aim of war is the complete domination of the ‘opponent’, this paper makes the case that we are currently engaged in a species war against nonhuman animals. It argues that during this war, War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity are committed against nonhuman animals: rape, forced pregnancy and ‘any other form of sexual violence also constituting a grave breach of the Geneva Conventions… or any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity.’ Based on a reinterpretation of non-international armed conflict, as outlined by the International Committee of the Red Cross (2008), this paper offers practical and operational guidelines for protecting nonhuman animals from these acts of reproductive violence. Drawing on Article 53 of the Geneva Conventions - The Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (1949) - it argues that nonhuman animals should be treated as noncombatants during war, and that existing protections within International Humanitarian Law should be applied to them as ‘protected persons’, rather than the property of ‘protected persons.’ In sum, this paper advocates granting nonhuman animals legal personhood and replacing the human security framework with personhood security to protect nonhuman animals from the biopolitical violence(s) of industrialized slaughter and industrialized reproduction.

Item Type:	Conference or Conference Paper (Paper)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	rape, forced pregnancy, sexual violence, Geneva conventions
Subjects:	K Law > K Law (General) K Law > KZ Law of Nations
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences > School of Law & Criminology (LAC)
Related URLs:	Organisation
Last Modified:	23 Jul 2024 10:18
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/47633

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