Abstract:
Why do some governments adopt domestic accountability for conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) while others do not? In this paper, I propose that conflict-affected governments adopt legislative and judicial accountability for CRSV to restore their reputation. By adopting preventive laws and policies, legislative accountability addresses demands for justice without disclosing past CRSV. On the other hand, by punishing perpetrators, judicial accountability allows governments to promote their reputation by distancing the authority from the violent entity. Using an original dataset on domestic accountability for CRSV in conflict-affected African states between 1998 and 2018, I find empirical support for these arguments. This paper contributes to the transitional justice literature by extending the scholarly focus on accountability for CRSV and proposing it as a strategic choice by governments. It also conducts the first cross-national analysis of domestic accountability for CRSV, providing an empirical assessment of domestic legal and judicial solutions to CRSV.