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6 Intercultural Hum. Rts. L. Rev 325 (2011)
Recognizing Rape as Torture: The Evolution of Women's Rights Legal Protective Techniques

handle is hein.journals/ichuman6 and id is 329 raw text is: RECOGNIZING RAPE AS TORTURE: THE EVOLUTION OF WOMEN'S RIGHTS LEGAL PROTECTIVE TECHNIQUES IVETA CHERNEVA I. Introduction When thinking about torture, the image coming to mind is that of a detainee held by state authorities for purposes of information extraction. The newspapers' photo images of Abu Graib detainees and sharp-teeth dogs are inevitably recalled. The present article examines a different angle with regard to the legal conceptualization of torture as a violation of international human rights law. The 2008 Report by the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on Torture Manfred Nowak opened a door by linking torture to sexual and domestic violence and women's rights, creating a potential future impact with results that remain to be seen. This article examines the evolution of law with regard to recognizing rape as torture. The analysis underlines the main conceptual issues and legal implications arising out of the legal characterization of rape as torture. It further suggests potential directions for the evolution of women's rights protective techniques. II. Is Rape Torture? Already in 1993, Catherine MacKinnon had been fervently campaigning for re-conceptualizing torture to encompass rape, so * Iveta Cherneva is an author and practitioner focusing on human rights, security, human trafficking, environmental, social & governance factors, and sustainable finance. Her career includes the United Nations, US Congress, Oxford GEG and a number of non-profit institutions. She is the author of the books Trafficking for Begging: Old Game, New Name, 2011, editor of The Business Case for Sustainable Finance, forthcoming 2012, and co-author of Beyond Market Forces: Regulating the Global Security Industry, 2009.