Thesis Title: Addressing the nexus between conflict-related sexual violence and terrorism: challenges and perspectives of accountability at the national and supranational level
n 2021, the UN Secretary-General highlighted that the vast majority of perpetrators of CRSV are non-State armed groups, including several terrorist organisations. Extremist groups systematically employ sexual violence as a deliberate tactic to increase funds, advance ideology, recruit fighters, gain information, destroy and displace communities.
Nevertheless, the recent focus on sexual terrorism has not resulted in improved prosecution rates. No sexual violence crimes committed by terrorist organisations have been prosecuted under domestic counter-terrorism legislation to date. Members of terrorist groups are usually prosecuted with broad charges -i.e., membership or association to the group. National and international prosecutions of CRSV do not normally consider crimes committed by terrorist organisations. Victims tend to underreport crimes due to insecurity, fear of reprisals and stigma arising from being associated with the terrorist group. Hence, a significant gap exists in ensuring accountability for victims of sexual violence in the context of terrorism.
The research seeks to answer the primary research question: What is the best option to prosecute CRSV employed by terrorist groups? Key questions include: What are the current legislative and prosecutorial barriers in addressing the nexus between sexual violence and terrorism? How can these limitations be overcome? How do victims perceive judicial mechanisms to address these crimes? Which institution can better promote a survivor-centric prosecutorial approach and change the assumption of victims considered as affiliates?
Sara holds a master’s degree in Law (110/110 summa cum laude) from the University of Bologna and an LLM in Criminal Justice (with Distinction) from the University of Nottingham. Sara was a Student Assistant and then an intern in support of the International Criminal Justice Unit of the University of Nottingham Human Rights Law Centre, where she is currently supervising Student Assistants working on the National Implementing Legislation Database and the Cooperation and Judicial Assistance Database (ICC Legal Tools). She also collaborated as a Research Associate on two projects developed by the Rights Lab around modern slavery and labour exploitation. She has then worked as a Research Assistant on a series of projects aiming to empower the leadership of women survivors of sexual violence in Northern Uganda. Her research areas include international criminal law, criminal justice, and criminal procedure and evidence, with a particular focus on sexual and gender-based violence in conflict and post-conflict settings.
