Peer-reviewed article
The Consequences of Violence against Women and Children in Armed Conflicts for their Intangible Cultural Heritage
Ilaria Pretelli ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5This article looks at how violence against women and children in armed conflict affects their intangible cultural heritage. It argues that mass rape and related violence can leave victims alienated and rejected by their communities, so that women and children lose their cultural heritage. It also notes that conflict can sometimes open unexpected opportunities, such as faster progress towards women's empowerment during social reconstruction. The author suggests a long-term (diachronic) view and further research to reconcile women's rights with the preservation of cultural heritage.
Key points
- Violence against women in armed conflict is used as a means of disrupting the enemy's community.
- Mass rape causes individual and social trauma, leading to alienation and loss of social identification of victims.
- Women and children who feel rejected by their community lose their cultural heritage.
- In some cases, the need for social reconstruction after demographic changes has sped up women's empowerment.
- More research is needed to clarify the line drawn in Article 2 of the 2003 Convention between heritage worth protecting and heritage to be left in the past.
Limitations
The abstract does not name specific countries, conflicts, data or methods, so the strength of the evidence cannot be judged. It focuses mainly on women, with children mentioned only briefly.
Abstract
Traditional gender roles persist in modern societies. A division would not be detrimental to women if it were not based on their subordination. Unfortunately, gender inequality is part of a burdensome historical legacy that is common to both Western and non-Western religious and social contexts. Ironically, in patriarchal communities, women are responsible for passing on this legacy of subordination to future generations. Their role of pillars of family honour and custodians of cultural heritage highlights the ambiguity of the term "intangible cultural heritage" and the need to draw a line between what is worth protecting and what should be relegated to the past. The last sentence of Article 2 of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage draws this line, but more research is needed to clarify its content and scope. Until then, armed conflicts seem to be a decisive factor in the selection of historical legacies that survive from the devastation they cause, both in terms of tangible and intangible cultural heritage. Violence against women in armed conflict is used as a means of disrupting the enemy's community. The individual and social trauma caused by mass rape leads to the alienation and loss of social identification of the victims in their social environment. Feeling rejected by the community to which they would naturally belong, women and children lose their cultural heritage. Paradoxically, however, armed conflict can also create unexpected opportunities for the living cultural heritage. In some scenarios, the need for social reconstruction following dramatic demographic changes has led to faster progress towards women's empowerment. This article emphasizes the potential impetus of a visible common trend towards gender equality, which makes it possible to reconcile tradition and evolution in the protection of intangible heritage. By suggesting the adoption of a diachronic perspective, it highlights the need for future avenues of research that can demystify the opposition between the universality of women's rights and the preservation of intangible cultural heritage.