Wars Against Women

Heleen Mees and Femke van Zeijl: Wars Against Women

AMSTERDAM – Truth is often said to be the first casualty in wartime.  But if the real truth is told, it is women who are the first casualties. In conflict zones, the United Nations children's agency UNICEF recently observed, sexual violence usually spreads like an epidemic. Whether it is civil war, pogroms, or other armed conflicts, all too often women's bodies become part of the battlefield. The victims of large-scale sexual atrocities range from baby girls to old women.

Project Syndicate 6/3/08 7:52 PM