This article was downloaded by: [York University Libraries]

On: 21 November 2014, At: 21:25

Publisher: Routledge
Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House,
37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

The Journal of Sex Research

Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information:
http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/hjsr20

Explaining wartime rape

a
Jonathan Gottschall
a
St. Lawrence University, First Year Program, C/O English Department , 23 Romoda Dr.,
Canton, NY, 13617 E-mail:
Published online: 11 Jan 2010.

To cite this article: Jonathan Gottschall (2004) Explaining wartime rape, The Journal of Sex Research, 41:2, 129-136, DOI:
10.1080/00224490409552221

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00224490409552221

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained
in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no
representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the
Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and
are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and
should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for
any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever
or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of
the Content.

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic
reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any
form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://
www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions
 Explaining Wartime Rape
Jonathan Gottschall
St. Lawrence University, NY

In the years since the first reports of mass rapes in the Yugoslavian wars of secession and the genocidal massacres in
Rwanda, feminist activists and scholars, human rights organizations, journalists, and social scientists have dedicated
unprecedented efforts to document, explain, and seek solutions for the phenomenon of wartime rape. While contributors to
this literature agree on much, there is no consensus on causal factors. This paper provides a brief overview of the literature
on wartime rape in historical and ethnographical societies and a critical analysis of the four leading explanations for its
root causes: the feminist theory, the cultural pathology theory, the strategic rape theory, and the biosocial theory. The paper
concludes that the biosocial theory is the only one capable of bringing all the phenomena associated with wartime rape into
a single explanatory context.

In the years since the first reports of mass rapes in the causal factor. Moreover, proponents of the first three theo-
Downloaded by [York University Libraries] at 21:25 21 November 2014

Yugoslavian wars of secession and the genocidal mas- ries generally contend that rape in war is the result of
sacres in Rwanda, feminist activists and scholars, human social and cultural influences particular to given types of
rights organizations, journalists, and social scientists have societies, and argue against explanations based upon
dedicated unprecedented efforts to document, explain, and "human nature." These theories differ only in the identifi-
seek solutions for the phenomenon of wartime rape. While cation of which sociocultural factors are most responsible.
some researchers argue that the frequency, savagery, and On the other hand, the biosocial theory suggests that
systematic organization of wartime rape increased in late researchers must consider not only sociocultural factors
20th-century conflicts (Barstow, 2000, p. 8; Brownmiller, but also the evolved sexual psychology of human males,
1993; Mackinnon, 1994b, p. 75; Sajor, 1998, p. 3), most and it emphasizes that sexual desire is likely to be a pri-
emphasize the phenomenon's timeless ubiquity, tracing it mary influence on a soldier's decision to rape.
back to early accounts in the Torah, in Homer, in the The fundamental test of any theory is its ability to
Anglo-Saxon chronicles, and in mythological events like explain and bring coherence to information. A favored the-
the rape of the Sabine women. Researchers are also unified ory accounts for more information more economically
in their belief that the lack of attention to wartime rape by than its rivals. Theories also generate expectations about
scholars and international courts represents a serious dere- how phenomena should be organized if the theory is valid;
liction of moral and intellectual duty (e.g., Sajor, 1998, p. a favored theory is one whose logically derived expecta-
2; Thomas & Regan, 1994). Most importantly, these writ- tions are satisfied more fully than those generated by its
ers agree that the only way to attack the problem of rivals. This paper evaluates each of the four major theories
wartime rape is to identify and understand the factors and of wartime rape according to the following criteria: first,
conditions that promote it (for representative samples of descriptive power (is there good "theory/data fit?") and
this literature see contributors to Barstow, 2000; contribu- second, parsimony (does the theory account for informa-
tors to Dombrowski, 1999; contributors to Sajor, 1998; tion with the fewest numbers of assumptions and posits?)
contributors to Stiglmayer, 1994). Before evaluating the four theories of wartime rape,
On this most critical issue, however, the consensus in however, it is necessary to establish the information base
the literature wavers. While there is significant agreement against which these theories will be judged. The following
on some of the causal factors for wartime rape, there is no section provides a short overview of consensus knowledge
unified theory that can bring coherence to all the informa- about wartime rape.
tion associated with it. There are presently four leading
theories for the prevalence of wartime rape. I will refer to BACKGROUND ON WARTIME RAPE
these hereafter as the feminist theory, the cultural patholo- First, the term wartime rape, as it is employed in the liter-
gy theory, the strategic rape theory, and the biosocial theo- ature, never indicates isolated examples of rape by individ-
ry. While the first three theories emphasize different causal ual fighters. Rather, the term is used interchangeably with
factors for wartime rape, they are firmly unified in their mass wartime rape to indicate distinct patterns of rape by
ability to decisively rule out sexual desire as a major soldiers at rates that are much increased over rates of rape
that prevail in peacetime. While there are no reliable statis-
Address correspondence to Jonathan Gottschall, First Year Program, C/O
tics on wartime rape due to the reporting biases of the
English Department, ST. Lawrence University, 23 Romoda Dr., Canton, NY opposing sides and the reluctance of victims to come for-
13617; e-mail: jgottschall@stlawu.edu. ward, these increases can range from the calculated

The Journal of Sex Research Volume 41, Number 2, May 2004: pp. 129-136 129
 130 Explaining Wartime Rape

300% to 400% increases over American civilian rape rates the noble savage has been irreparably damaged by the find-
that accompanied American breakouts in France and ing that the abduction and rape of outgroup women has
Germany toward the end of World War II (Morris, 2000, p. been common, if not ubiquitous, in conflicts between band
170) to rates of increase that likely reached into the thou- and tribal societies (for overviews see Boehm, 1999;
sands in the weeks after the Red Army first swept into Chagnon, 1997; Divale & Harris, 1976; Gat, 2000). The
Berlin and committed between 20,000 and 100,000 rapes words of Ongka, a big man of the Kawelka people of Papua
(Brownmiller, 1975; Ryan, 1966; Siefert, 1994). New Guinea, are not exceptional in ethnographical
Incidentally, these figures represent good examples of the accounts of primitive wars:
mushiness of wartime rape statistics: The American figures
are almost certainly underestimated because they are based When we fought in earnest, with lethal weapons, we went to the
solely on rapes reported to authorities, and estimates of the help of our friends also. We burnt houses, slashed banana trees,
tore the aprons off women and raped them, axed big pigs, broke
number of Red Army rapes in Berlin climb as high as down fences; we did everything. We carried on until the place was
1,000,000 (Grossman, 1999, p. 164). A partial list of coun- empty of resources... .When we left our women behind and went
tries that have been identified as loci of mass rapes con- out to fight, they were in danger. Men came to find them, chasing
ducted by military or paramilitary forces just in the 20th them down to the edges of streams until they seized hold of them,
century includes Belgium and Russia during World War I; especially if their bodies were good to look at. Twenty men might
lay hold of the same woman, pulling her around for a day and
Russia, Japan, Italy, Korea, China, the Philippines, and
Downloaded by [York University Libraries] at 21:25 21 November 2014

night and then letting her go. (Strathern & Stewart, 2000, p. 41)
Germany during World War H; and in one or more con-
flicts, Afghanistan, Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, In fact, the promise of sexual access to outgroup women
Burma, Bosnia, Cambodia, Congo, Croatia, Cyprus, East has often been identified by anthropologists, ethnogra-
Timor, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Indonesia, phers, and native informants (see Ritchie, 1996; Strathern
Kuwait, Kosovo, Liberia, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Peru, & Stewart, 2000; Valero, 1970) as a primary instigator of
Pakistan, Rwanda, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Turkey, conflict in préstate societies.
Uganda, Vietnam, Zaire, and Zimbabwe.1 In short, historical and anthropological evidence sug-
There is no reason to believe that mass wartime rape gests that rape in the context of war is an ancient human
was less common prior to the 20th century. Perhaps most practice, and that this practice has stubbornly prevailed
well documented historical wars include examples of across a stunningly diverse concatenation of societies and
widespread military rape. For instance, mass rape is well historical epochs.
documented in the wars between Jews and their enemies
described in the Bible (e.g., Deuteronomy, 21; Isaiah, CRITICAL ANALYSIS O F THEORIES F O R MASS
13:16; Lamentations, 5:11; Zechariah, 14:2), in Anglo- WARTIME RAPE
Saxon and Chinese chronicles (Littlewood, 1997), in
Feminist Theory
Medieval European warfare (Meron, 1993), during the
crusades (Brownmiller, 1975, p. 35), in Alexander's con- Feminist scholars and activists deserve credit for being the
quest of Persia (Hansen, 1999, p. 188), in Viking maraud- first to systematically investigate, document, and "raise con-
ing (Karras, 1990), in the conquest of Rome by Alane sciousness" about the problem of mass wartime rape. The
(Ghiglieri, 2000, p. 90), in the petty wars of Ancient classic feminist orientation is to extend the so-called power
Greeks (Finley, 1954), and so on. It is important to note hypothesis of rape into the wartime milieu (see Brownmiller,
that the level and extent of mass rape in many conflicts— 1975). That is, rape in war, like rape in peace, is identified
for instance, the German "rape of Belgium" in World War not as a crime of sexual passion but as a crime motivated by
I—has been hotly contested by scholars (Gullace, 1997). the desire of a man to exert dominance over a woman (see
Yet, a review of the historical evidence conveys the dis- contributors to Barstow, 2000; contributors to Sajor, 1998;
tinct impression that whenever and wherever men have contributors to Stiglmayer, 1994). Feminist theorists set this
gone to war, many of them have reasoned like old Nestor theory up in opposition to what they call the "pressure cook-
in the Iliad, who concludes his pep talk to war-weary er" theory of wartime rape (Siefert, 1994, p. 55). The pres-
Greek troops by reminding them of the spoils of victory: sure cooker theory, as feminists describe it, suggests that war
"So don't anyone hurry to return homeward until after he rapists are the victims of irresistible biological imperatives
has lain down alongside a wife of some Trojan" (Homer, and that the chaos of the wartime milieu encourages men to
1999, Book 2, 354-355). vent their urges to terrible effect.
Moreover, strong evidence indicates that the roots of However, the feminist theory of wartime rape is also a
mass rape stretch back into human prehistory. The myth of pressure cooker theory; in this case, however, the pressure
that builds is not libidinal in nature but misogynistic.
Under this theory, men in patriarchal societies are condi-
1
This list is drawn from the following sources: Amnesty International (1997, tioned to distrust, despise, and dominate women. Warrior
1998, 2000); Barstow (2000, p. 3); Brownmiller (1975); Chelela (1998); rapists "vent their contempt for women" (Brownmiller,
Ghiglieri (2000, p. 90); Littlewood (1997); Menon (1998); Neier (1998, pp.
172-191); Oosterveld (1998, pp. 64-67); Swiss and Giller (1993); Tanaka (1999, 1975, p. 32; see also Siefert, 1994) while enforcing and
pp. 174-176); Thomas and Regan (1994). perpetuating patriarchal gender arrangements from which
 Gottschall 131

all men benefit. Therefore, rape in war is deemed a result For the cultural pathology theory, the fit between theo-
of a conspiracy, not necessarily conscious but still system- ry and data can be quite suggestive. Writers paint plausible
atic, of men to dominate and oppress women. While men portraits of socioculturel factors that may have contributed
may fight on different sides and for different reasons, in to the frequency or ferocity of wartime rape. However,
one sense they are all warriors on behalf of their gender— while cultural pathology theory may help us do a better job
and the enemy is woman. of understanding the dynamics of wartime rape in given
Since rape is seen as the result of specific types of cases, it provides little help in understanding the phenom-
socialization practices particular to specific types of soci- enon as a whole. Why is it that wartime rape occurs not
eties, feminist rape theory generates the expectation that only in individual, pathological cultures but prevails
rape in the context of war (and peace) should only prevail across eras and all types of cultures? Why is it evident not
in a limited subset of societies. Specifically, rape in war is only in mechanized modern states that are "distant from
expected to occur largely in Western and staunchly patri- nature" but in band and tribal contexts? How is it that
archal societies and in societies that are somehow distant wartime rape is regularly perpetrated by men who have
from or out of harmony with nature (Siefert, 1996, p. 36). massively different socialization experiences: imperial
In this aspect, the feminist theory has poor theory-data fit. Japanese troops, Mongol raiders, Maori, Yanomamo,
Not only does evidence indicate that peacetime rape (and Jivaro, and New Guiñean tribesmen, and American sol-
its proscription) is a cultural universal (Palmer, 1989), but
Downloaded by [York University Libraries] at 21:25 21 November 2014

diers in Vietnam?
it also shows that large-scale rape is a common outcome of
conflicts among bands, tribes, chiefdoms, and state soci- Strategic Rape Theory
eties spread across continents and centuries. Thus, despite Strategic rape theory is currently the most influential the-
the invaluable contributions of feminists to documenting ory of mass wartime rape. It is widely credited by activists
and analyzing mass wartime rape, the classic feminist the- and scholars and largely taken for granted by international
ory cannot itself account for all of the data. commissions and journalists. Therefore it will be exam-
ined at somewhat greater length than the preceding alter-
Cultural Pathology Theory natives. Starting with Susan Brownmiller's important
The cultural pathology theory has the character of cultural book, Against Our Will (1975; see also Brownmiller,
psychoanalysis. The goal is to peer back into a nation's 1993), and increasingly since the Yugoslavian and
history and see what developmental factors conspired to Rwandan mass rapes, a consensus has been building that
cause its men to descend to the vilest barbarism. Iris wholesale rape represents just another ordinance—like
Chang's well-known study of the rape of Nanking repre- bombs, bullets, or propaganda—that a military can use to
sents a case in point. One scholar describes Chang's work accomplish its strategic objectives; rape is a tactic execut-
as follows: ed by soldiers in the service of larger strategic objectives.
While supporters of this position do not always claim that
Her research points to the high level of militarization in Japanese military planners explicitly instruct soldiers to rape, the
education and culture at that time, the brutality of military train- implication is clear: Wartime rape is a coherent, coordinat-
ing, and the new attitude toward the Chinese, previously admired ed, logical, and brutally effective means of prosecuting
but now looked down upon. She also describes the deeply
ingrained contempt for women within Japanese military culture. warfare (see Allen, 1996; Kamal, 1998; Littlewood, 1997;
(Barstow, 2000, p. 47) Thomas & Regan, 1994).
Variations on the theory that wartime rape is strategic
Another scholar argues that the sexual crimes perpetrated rape are predicated on the deleterious effects that mass
by the Japanese military in Asia during World War II were rape has on enemy populations. It is credited with spread-
the result of "the sado-masochistic tendencies in Japanese ing debilitating terror, diminishing the resistance of civil-
child-rearing brought on by collective trauma having to ians, and demoralizing, humiliating, and emasculating
do with natural disasters and subjugation by other coun- enemy soldiers who are thereby shown to have failed in
tries" (Rosenman, 2000, p. 15; for a different psychoana- their most elemental protective duties. Further, mass rape
lytic approach see Parin, 1994). Other writers indict mili- is said to cast blight on the very roots of the afflicted cul-
tary culture generally for fostering hostile attitudes ture, affecting its capacity to remain coherent and to
toward women that, too often, culminate in feelings of reproduce itself. By raping women, soldiers split the
entitlement to rape (e.g., Morris, 2000; Chang, 1997). familial atoms of which every society is composed.
MacKinnon (1994b) explained Serb rapes of Muslim and Raped women may become pregnant by the enemy, they
Croat women as a direct result of the widespread avail- may suffer grievous physical and psychological injuries,
ability of explicit pornography prior to the war: "When they may die, they may be abandoned or disavowed by
pornography is this normal, a whole population of men is shamed families and husbands, all of which degrade the
primed to dehumanize women and to enjoy inflicting ability of a culture to replenish itself through sexual
assault sexually....Pornography was the perfect prepara- reproduction. For these reasons, advocates of strategic
tion—motivator and instructional manual in one for the rape theory often refer to it as "genocidal rape"—rape
sexual atrocities in this genocide" (p. 77). designed, whether with full consciousness or not, to anni-
 132 Explaining Wartime Rape

hilate a people and a culture (see Allen, 1996; Barstow, [Japanese] Military leaders were deeply concerned that such seri-
2000; Hyun-Kyung, 2000, p. 20; MacKinnon, 1994a, ous crimes [i.e., rapes] would arouse the antagonism of civilians
toward their conquerors in the occupied territories and believed
1994b; Salzman, 2000). that a ready supply of women for the troops would reduce the
While mass wartime rape can surely result in the dam- incidence of rape. In other words, the system was introduced for
age discussed above, it remains possible that the sup- strategic reasons [italics added], not out of concern for the civil-
porters of strategic rape theory may be confusing the ians, (p. xi)
consequences of wartime rape with the motives for it.
Just because these consequences may include demoral- Chung's (1995) overview of the Korean comfort women
ized populaces or fractured families does not mean that system reaches the same conclusion:
these were the goals for which the rapes were perpetrat-
The most direct reason for expanding military comfort stations
ed in the first place. All of these results may be unin- during the war was the frequent rape of women carried out by
tended (which is not to say unwelcome) consequences of Japanese soldiers. Soldiers plundered towns, raped women, start-
wartime rape. ed fires and brutally killed any captives. Rape, in particular, tend-
In just nine months spanning 1971 to 1972, Pakistani ed to provoke strong anti-Japanese local feeling. This made it dif-
ficult to rule the occupied territories, hence the military ordered:
soldiers raped as many as 200,000 Bengali women Each soldier's behavior must be tightly controlled and sexual
(Habiba, 1998; Kamal, 1998). An Indian novelist com- comfort facilities should soon be set up. (p. 14)
mented, "The rapes were so systematic and pervasive that
Downloaded by [York University Libraries] at 21:25 21 November 2014

they had to be conscious army policy" (as cited in Siefert, There were other reasons for the inauguration of the
1996, p. 35). However, there is virtually no evidence cited comfort women system—like controlling venereal disease
in the literature to support the notion of conscious planning and providing sexual release, which was considered
aside from this appearance. While some documentary evi- healthy—but decreasing the incidence of rape was a pri-
dence does exist suggesting that some modern militaries mary goal.
have considered rape strategically valuable, this evidence While this represents only one example, it is relatively
is sparse and of dubious authenticity (see Salzman, 2000). uncontroversial, and similar examples could be adduced.
On the other hand, we do possess concrete evidence that For instance, to cite a more recent example, consider the
many military planners have recognized that rape commit- following 1997 report of rapes during civil conflict in
ted by soldiers can represent a serious threat to their larg- Zaire:
er strategic interests and have therefore sought to proscribe
it. As different commentators on the subject have indicat- On December 5 or 6, according to several local sources, soldiers
ed, one of the most effective ways of galvanizing resis- brutally raped school girls at the Lycee Likovi secondary school
tance in an embattled population is by exposing it to pro- in Bunia [Zaire].. .The population of the town turned against the
soldiers—there were protest marches and a soldier was reported-
paganda forecasting orgies of rape when and if the enemy ly killed. A witness said, "these people have been pushed beyond
triumphs (e.g., Brownmiller, 1975, p. 128; Thomas & their limits - now they are going to kill soldiers." This was not the
Regan, 1994, p. 93). In short, there is at least as much rea- only girl's secondary school to be attacked by soldiers bent upon
son to suspect wartime rape can be strategically counter- violating young girls. At Idohu ... a witness reporting that the sol-
productive, resulting not in cowed and crushed popula- diers who went to Bunia raped and kidnapped the young girls in •
late November, said: "This has turned disgust with the FAZ
tions but in galvanized and vengeful populations of civil- [Forces Armes Zaïroises] to bitter hatred." (Amnesty
ians and soldiers. International, 1997)
A well-documented example of a situation where
wartime rape ran counter to strategic interests is represent- Thus, as with Japanese rapes in the World War U era, there
ed by the experience of the Japanese military in Korea and is much reason to believe that rapes committed by members
China throughout the 1930s and until the end of World of Zaire's security forces were strategically counterproduc-
War II. In their Asian conquests, Japanese commanders tive, stirring up resentment and resistance in victimized
found that the frequent rapes of civilian women created populations rather than cowing them into submission.
serious strategic problems. Far from cowing or breaking Furthermore, the strategic rape hypothesis makes a poor
populations, it served to antagonize, even to enrage them. fit with evidence from band and tribal populations. Far
The Japanese inaugurated their massive system of forced from helping aggressors realize their strategic objectives,
military prostitution, the so-called "comfort women" sys- rape in the context of primitive wars seems to have exact-
tem, in large part because rape was considered detrimental ly the opposite effect. The common rapes of outgroup
to military goals. The first comfort station was inaugurat- women in the context of non-state wars inspire feelings of
ed in 1932 in Shanghai, using not local women but import- hatred and vengefulness, and often result in long and
ed Japanese prostitutes for the pleasure of the Japanese exhausting cycles of retributive raids and counter-rapes
navy. The station was set up in direct response to an offi- (see accounts in Chagnon, 1997; Gat, 2000; Ritchie, 1996,
cial request for comfort women who could prevent the Strathern & Stewart, 2000). In summary, it seems that the
sailors from raping local women (Chung, 1995, p. 13). strategic rape hypothesis, while perhaps accounting for
Tanaka's (1999) historical study of the comfort women some instances of mass rape, does not succeed in bringing
issue concludes the following: wartime rape within a single explanatory context.
 Gottschall 133

Summary Assessment of Sociocultural Theories the individual and her family and her community. As well
as an attempt to dominate, humiliate, and control behavior,
While each of the above theories is distinct from the oth- rape in war can also be intended to disable an enemy by
ers, clearly they share major factors in common. First, all destroying the bonds of family and society...Rape can be
of the theories agree that rape in war is not incidental but both a military strategy and a nationalist policy" (p. 612).
functional. That is, rape in war serves a purpose larger than For sociocultural theorists, military rape is often the result
itself. More specifically, wartime rape functions to serve of a complex combination of causal factors. However, as
the interests of the collective over the interests of the indi- stressed above, the sexual impulses of individual soldiers
vidual soldier. For instance, Thomas and Regan (1994) are almost never allowed a significant place in the causal
write: "Documenting where and how rape functions as a mix. This stands in stark contrast to the biosocial theory,
tool of military strategy is essential to counteract the long- which I move to consider now.
standing view of rape in war as private or incidental" (p.
85). Second, most writers either explicitly deny that sexu- The Biosocial Theory
al desire is a factor in a soldier's decision to rape or define Biology-based theories of wartime rape are often
it as a minor contributing factor — rape in war is mainly described by critics as indicating that sociocultural factors
about power, sadistic violence, and strategy, not sex. For are insignificant variables in soldiers' decisions to rape and
example, Siefert (1996) is representative in writing that
Downloaded by [York University Libraries] at 21:25 21 November 2014

that the activity is wholly under genetic control. In this

rape ".. .has nothing to do with sexuality but with the exer- view, rape in war is an inevitable, genetically determined
tion of sexual violence directed against women" (p. 36). reflex. This view is sometimes identified with the above
Stiglmayer's (1994) formulation is more emphatic, but mentioned "pressure cooker" theory of wartime rape: the
still representative: idea that men possess instincts for sexual aggression that
are restrained under normal conditions but that, in the
A rape is an aggressive and humiliating act, as even a soldier chaotic wartime milieu, spew forth like the vented gas of a
knows, or at least suspects. He rapes because he wants to engage
in violence. He rapes because he wants to demonstrate his power.
pressure cooker.
He rapes because he is the victor. He rapes because the woman is The pressure cooker metaphor is based on hydraulic
the enemy's woman, and he wants to humiliate and annihilate the models of aggression championed by Freud and 20th-cen-
enemy. He rapes because the woman is herself the enemy whom tury ethologists like Konrad Lorenz and Robert Ardrey,
he wishes to humiliate and annihilate. He rapes because he despis-
es women. He rapes to prove his virility. He rapes because the
and critics are right to treat it dismissively. However,
acquisition of the female body means a piece of territory con- human behavioral biology has changed radically over the
quered. He rapes to take out on someone else the humiliation he last 3 to 4 decades, and the current generation of evolu-
has suffered in the war. He rapes to work off his fears. He rapes tionary and biological researchers stridently oppose the
because it's really only some "fun" with the guys. He rapes older view that rape and other aggressive behaviors result
because war, a man's business, has awakened his aggressiveness,
and he directs it at those who play a subordinate role in the world
from blind biological drives; rather they emphasize that all
of war. (p. 84) behavior (including aggressive behavior) is acutely sensi-
tive to and influenced by environmental cues (e.g., Daly &
Third, and finally, all three theories assume that the roots of Wilson, 1988; Tooby & Cosmides, 1992; Thornhill &
the phenomenon are sunk not in biological soil but in strict- Palmer, 2000, p. 167-178). However, because the
ly sociocultural factors that are separate and distinct from hydraulic model is still commonly identified with biology-
biology. Most writers follow Brownmiller's (1975) argu- based theories, it is important to point out its shortcomings
ment that rape is biological only in the sense that an "acci- before discussing the biosocial theory proper. The key
dent of biology" (male size and strength and the nature of aspect of the hydraulic model of wartime rape is its con-
human sex organs) gave males the "structural capacity" to text-insensitive determinacy. Therefore, to distinguish it
rape and females the "structural vulnerability" to be raped from the biosocial theory, I will refer to it as the biological
(pp. 13-15). Finally, for all of their valuable contributions, determinism theory of wartime rape.
each of the three sociocultural theories have been found Since it hinges on the assumption of biological adapta-
wanting in theory-data fit and/or parsimony and therefore tions functioning to promote rape in war that are all but
fail as generalizable theories of wartime rape. insensitive to environmental conditions, a biological deter-
It must be acknowledged that this failure would come as minist theory generates the expectation that virtually
no great surprise to many proponents of sociocultural theo- everywhere we find hostile soldiers in the midst of civil-
ries who often claim that a phenomenon as complex as ians identified with the enemy there will be high rates of
wartime rape is unlikely to distill to a single cause, and that rape. On this measure, the biological determinist theory
a pluralistic approach is therefore most likely to yield enjoys strong theory-data fit. Of all the theories so far dis-
results. Thus, at different times in her 1975 book, cussed, it comes closest to accounting for the pervasive-
Brownmiller advocates for all three of the above sociocul- ness of rape in armed conflict situations.
tural theories. This pluralistic approach is well represented A biological determinism theory of wartime rape also
in the excerpt from Stiglmayer above and in Swiss and accounts well for the demographic characteristics of its
Giller (1993), who write: "In war, rape is an assault on both victims. If wartime rape is primarily motivated by sexual
 134 Explaining Wartime Rape

desire (as opposed to, for instance, strategic concerns or is fully and equally codetermined by the interaction of the
misogyny) then soldier rapists would be expected to pre- organism's genes...and its environments" (p. 83).
dominately target women at the ages of peak physical The biosocial theory is premised on a significant genet-
attractiveness. Since redundant research demonstrates that, ic substrate to the phenomenon of wartime rape. Wartime
across societies, men (and women) consider young women rape occurs in societies of all different races, religions, eth-
to be most attractive (see Buss 1989; for an overview see nicities, and political and economic systems. Since this
Symons, 1995), the theory predicts that young women will behavior is well documented in societies spaced widely in
be overrepresented as the victims of rape. And the evi- dimensions of space, time, and cultural complexity, the
dence is indeed clear that, as in peacetime rape (Ghiglieri, simplest assumption is, as recognized by the anthropolo-
2000; Jones, 1999; Thornhill & Palmer, 2000), young, gist Roland Littlewood (1997), that wartime rape is in
reproductive-aged women are vastly overrepresented as some sense "natural" to human males. Given its cross-cul-
wartime rape's victims. While this conclusion cannot be tural and cross-historical prevalence, and given the age
statistically demonstrated, anecdotal accounts leave little ranges of its primary victims, biosocial theorists conclude
doubt as to its accuracy (see accounts in Brownmiller, that a prominent motive for wartime rape is the simple sex-
1975, pp. 45, 52, 55, 58; Chagnon, 1997; Chung, 1995, p. ual desire of individual fighters (e.g., Ghiglieri, 2000;
17; Gutman, 1992; Stiglmayer, 1994; Strathern & Stewart, Thornhill & Palmer, 2000).
2000; Tanaka, 1999, p. xvi; Valero, 1970). However, the variability of wartime rape across conflicts
Downloaded by [York University Libraries] at 21:25 21 November 2014

However, the theory is limited in its ability to account and the fact that many soldiers with the option to rape
for other phenomena associated with wartime rape. For apparently choose not to decisively rules out the view of
instance, a biological determinist theory generates the wartime rape as a blind genetic drive that is, and ever will
expectation that, since wartime rape is under tight genet- be, expressed when men meet to fight and kill. This varia-
ic control, the character, intensity, savagery, and preva- tion is best explained as a result of sociocultural influences.
lence of wartime rape should fluctuate within exceeding- In short, genetic and sociocultural explanations cannot be
ly narrow bounds as we cross from conflict to conflict. profitably viewed as antagonistic or as mutually exclusive
Yet, clearly, these characteristics do vary widely from alternatives. Rather, each approach complements and com-
conflict to conflict. Moreover, the theory does a poor job pletes the other. Without a genetic perspective, the ubiqui-
of accounting for the fact that in many conflicts, many ty of wartime rape makes no sense nor does its dispropor-
soldiers apparently do not rape. If the tendency to rape in tionate focus on victims at the ages of peak physical attrac-
war is biologically determined, then why do some sol- tiveness. On the other hand, without sociocultural consid-
diers rape freely while others abstain? In sum, while the eration, the variability of wartime rape makes no sense.
biological determinism theory accounts well for the Integrating the perspectives into a single biosocial theory
prevalence of wartime rape around the world it does not allows a view of wartime rape in which all the data are,
account well for variation from conflict to conflict and finally, brought within a single explanatory context.
variation in the motivation and willingness of individual The biosocial theory of rape is most often identified with
soldiers to rape. the work of biologist Randy Thornhill and anthropologist
Finally, the biological determinism theory, with its Craig Palmer. In A Natural History of Rape, Thornhill and
insistence on rigid biological adaptations ultimately func- Palmer (2000) argue that strictly sociocultural explanations
tioning to perpetuate the genes of the rapist, does not antic- for rape, including wartime rape, are incomplete (see also
ipate the common reports of wanton and perversely sexu- contributors to Buss & Malamuth, 1996; Jones, 1999;
alized violence committed against women in war zones, up Shields & Shields, 1983; Thornhill & Thornhill, 1983).
to and including post-rape murder. These are accounts in Moreover, they lay out a case—based on rape statistics, evo-
which warriors implement degrees of force far in excess of lutionary theory, and comparison with other species where
that required to perpetrate the rape and, in the process, sexual coercion is common (including nonhuman apes and
greatly diminish their likelihood of passing on genes. other primates)—that sexual desire is a common motivation
In point of fact, however, the biological determinist the- for human rape and that this desire ultimately traces back to
ory, so described, is a straw man with no scholarly adher- men's evolved sexual psychology. Thornhill and Palmer's
ents; the theory exists in its fullest form in the critiques of argument is not that men are necessarily adapted to commit
sociocultural theorists who identify it with the opinions of rape in certain contexts. While they do tentatively advance
sociobiologists and evolutionary psychologists (e.g., H. the theory that men—like scorpion flies, orangutans, and
Rose, 2000; S. Rose, 2000). Modern biology-based theo- certain species of ducks—may possess condition-dependent
ries of wartime rape are not theories of genetic determin- biological adaptations that are specifically designed to pro-
ism; they are, in fact, biosocial theories that place fully mote rape in appropriate cost-benefit environments, they
coequal emphasis on genetic and sociocultural factors. stress the fact that an equally plausible theory is that rape is
This pluralism is typical of biology-based theories of a nonadaptive by-product or "spandrel" (see Gould &
human behavior and psychology generally, which are Lewontin, 1979) of adaptations for consensual sexual activ-
founded on the premise, here voiced by Tooby and ity. Therefore, the main value of Thornhill and Palmer's
Cosmides (1992), that "Every feature of every phenotype work is not to provide a final answer to the vexed question
 Gottschall 135

of whether or not rape and other forms of sexual coercion tion of mass wartime rape seems, to those passionately
are biologically adaptive for human beings but to present a committed to seeking solutions, like the first step toward
formidable case against "not sex" theories of human rape in the surrender to inevitability.
both peace and war contexts. However, this would be true only if mass wartime rape
were to be considered wholly under genetic control and if
CONCLUSION sociocultural factors were denied a major role in meliorat-
Contributors to the literature on wartime rape do not see ing or enhancing men's undeniably increased propensity to
themselves as debating a merely academic question. commit rape in the context of war. This, as stressed above,
Rather, the goal is both to bring attention to the crime so is not the case. The biosocial theory is founded on the
that international lawmakers will get serious about punish- premise that sociocultural factors play an integral part in
ing it and to "carve it at the joints" so that we can begin to influencing the incidence, prevalence, and savagery of
take practical and efficient steps toward diminishing its wartime rape from conflict to conflict and from man to
incidence. Contributors to the literature do their research man. Moreover, the logical conclusion of the biosocial
and report their findings in the ancient conviction that we hypothesis is not that we can only stop men from raping
must understand our problems before we can hope to solve when we gain the capacity to change human nature. On the
them. This characterization applies just as truly to biosocial contrary, the biosocial perspective actually leads logically
theorists, many of the most important of whom are women to a practical approach of exactly the same kind as those
Downloaded by [York University Libraries] at 21:25 21 November 2014

(these include Barbara Smuts, Nancy Thornhill, and Leah logically reached by sociocultural theorists: While it is
Shields), as it does to strictly sociocultural theorists. Yet, unlikely that the scourge of wartime rape can ever be erad-
while any support for biological pressure cooker theories icated, we can effect changes in the sociocultural factors
has vanished, an equally inadequate theory continues to that make men far more likely to rape in war than in peace-
enjoy near universal moral and intellectual dominance, not time milieus. Where the biosocial theory might differ from
only among mainstream contributors to the literature on its strictly sociocultural rivals is in the identification of
wartime rape but also among the wider educated public. changes that are most likely to be effective. While it is
This is the notion that mass wartime rape is a purely socio- beyond the scope of this article and the present author's
cultural phenomenon, and that, for however varied the expertise to suggest practical measures, it is clear that a
motives that culminate in mass rape, sexual desire can play theory that accounts for genetic as well as sociocultural
no significant role. This insistence on the deterministic factors and allows sexual desire an important causal role
power of culture and the reliance on the mantra that rape is may lead to different and more effective strategies for lim-
not "about sex" (except in the most trivial and literal sense) iting the occurrence of wartime rape.
represents a significant obstacle to expanding our under-
standing of mass wartime rape and thus to devising practi- REFERENCES
cal strategies for limiting its occurrence.
Allen, B. (1996). Rape warfare: The hidden genocide in Bosnia-
There are many and complex reasons for the continued Herzegovina and Croatia. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
resistance to plausible, empirically supported, and theo- Amnesty International. (1997, February 19). Rape, killings and other
human rights violations by the security forces. Retrieved March 1, 2003,
retically satisfying biosocial theories of wartime (and from http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/engAFR620061997
peacetime) rape. Part of this doubtlessly owes to discipli- Amnesty International. (1998, November 23). Democratic Republic of
nary inertia and the tendency of researchers to defend the- Congo: War against unarmed civilians. Retrieved April 15, 2003, from
ories on which they have staked their careers, their repu- http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/engAFR620361998
tations, and their worldviews. However, other factors are Amnesty International. (2000, June 30). Sierra Leone: Rape and other
forms of sexual violence must be stopped. Retrieved April 20, 2003,
operative, which come into play whenever biology is from http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/2000/15104800.htm
invoked as a significant player in human behavior and Barstow, A. (2000). Introduction. In A. Barstow (Ed.), War's dirty secret:
psychology. There is the legacy of social Darwinism that, Rape, prostitution, and other crimes against women (pp. 1-12).
for many, has forever stigmatized the application of biol- Cleveland, OH: The Pilgrim Press.
Boehm, C. (1999). Hierarchy in the forest: The evolution of egalitarian
ogy to human social affairs. There is the lingering sense behavior. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
that the invocation of any but the most limited biological Brownmiller, S. (1975). Against our will: Men, women, rape. New York:
role in human behavior is insidiously deterministic, sug- Simon and Schuster.
gesting that human misbehaviors are inevitable and Brownmiller, S. (1993, January 4). Making female bodies the battlefield.
Newsweek, 37.
immune to social remediation. There is the impression Buss, D. M. (1989). Sex differences in human mate preferences:
that invoking a sexual or biological component to rape Evolutionary hypotheses testing in 37 cultures. Behavioral and Brain
mitigates the rapist's culpability, making him a helpless Sciences, 12, 1-49.
victim of innate and ineradicable impulses. Most impor- Buss, D. M., and Malamuth, N. (Eds.). (1996). Sex, power, conflict:
Evolutionary and feminist perspectives. Oxford, UK: Oxford University
tant, there is the sense that if human nature truly does Press.
underpin wartime rape, then we are powerless to fight it. Chagnon, N. (1997). Yanomamo (5th ed.). New York: Harcourt Brace
After all, while you can conceivably change sociocultural College Publishers.
factors, you cannot hope to change human nature. Chang, I. (1997). The rape of Nanking. New York: Basic Books.
Chelala, C. (1998). Algerian abortion controversy highlights rape of war
Therefore, allowing biology a beachhead in the explana- victims. Lancet, 351, 1413-1414.
 136 Explaining Wartime Rape

Chung, C. S. (1995). Korean women drafted for military sexual slavery by against women (pp. 167-203). Cleveland, OH: The Pilgrim Press.
Japan. In H. Keith (Ed.), True stories of the Korean comfort women (pp. Neier, A. (1998). War crimes: Brutality, genocide, terror, and the struggle
11-30). New York: Cassell. for justice. New York: Random House.
Daly, M., & Wilson, M. (1988). Homicide. New York: Aldine de Gruyter. Oosterveld, V. (1998). When women are the spoils of war. UNESCO
Divale, W., & Harris, M. (1976). Population, warfare, and the male Courier, 51, 64-67.
supremacist complex. American Anthropologist, 80, 21-41. Palmer, C. (1989). Is rape a cultural universal? Ethnology, 28, 1-16.
Dombrowski, N. A. (Ed.). (1999). Women and war in the twentieth century: Parrin, P. (1994). Open wounds: Ethnopsychoanalytic reflections on the
Enlisted with or without consent. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc. wars in the former Yugoslavia. In A. Stiglmayer (Ed.), Mass rape: The
Finley, M. I. (1954). The world of Odysseus. New York: Viking Press. war against women in Bosnia-Herzegovina (pp. 35-53). Lincoln:
Gat, A. (2000). The human motivational complex: Evolutionary theory and University of Nebraska Press.
the causes of hunter-gatherer fighting. Part I. Primary somatic and repro- Ritchie, M. (1996). Spirit of the rainforest: A Yanomamo shaman's story.
ductive causes. Anthropological Quarterly, 73, 20-34. Chicago: Island Lake Press.
Ghiglieri, M. P. (2000). The dark side of man: Tracing the origins of male Rose, H. (2000). Debating rape. Lancet, 357, 727-729.
violence. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books. Rose, S. (2000, July). The new just so stories: Sexual selection and the fal-
Gould, S. J., & Lewontin, R. C. (1979). The spandrels of San Marco and the lacies of evolutionary psychology. Times Literary Supplement, 3-4.
Panglossian paradigm: A critique of the adaptationist programme. Rosenman, S. (2000). The spawning grounds of the Japanese rapists of
Proceedings of the Royal Society London, B., 205, 581-598. Nanking. Journal of Psychohistory, 28, 2-23.
Grossman, A. (1999). A question of silence: The rape of German women by Ryan, C. (1966). The last battle. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Soviet occupation soldiers. In N. Dombrowski (Ed.), Women and war in Sajor, I. L. (1998). Our common grounds. In I. L. Sajor (Ed.), Common
the twentieth century (pp. 116-137). New York: Garland Publishing, Inc. grounds: Violence against women in war and armed conflict situations
Gullace, N. F. (1997). Sexual violence and family honor: British propagan- (pp. 1-18). Quezon City, Phillipines: Asian Center for Women's Human
Downloaded by [York University Libraries] at 21:25 21 November 2014

da and international law during the First World War. American Rights.
Historical Review, 102, 714-747. Salzman, T. (2000). "Rape camps," forced impregnation, and ethnic cleans-
Gutman, R. (1992). Foreword. In A. Stiglmayer (Ed.), Mass rape: The war ing: Religious, cultural and ethical responses to rape victims in the for-
against women in Bosnia-Herzegovina (pp. ix-xiv). Lincoln: University mer Yugoslavia. In A. Barstow (Ed.), War's dirty secret: Rape, prostitu-
of Nebraska Press. tion, and other crimes against women (pp. 63-92). Cleveland, OH: The
Habiba, S. U. (1998). Mass rape and violence in the 1971 armed conflict of Pilgrim Press.
Bangladesh: Justice and other issues. In I. L. Sajor (Ed.), Common Siefert, R. (1994). War and rape: A preliminary analysis. In A. Stiglmayer
grounds: Violence against women in war and armed conflict situations (Ed.), Mass rape: The war against women in Bosnia-Herzigovina (pp.
(pp. 257-267). Quezon City, Phillipines: Asian Center for Women's 54-72). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
Human Rights. Seifert, R. (1996). The second front: The logic of sexual violence in wars.
Hansen, V. (1999). The wars of the ancient Greeks. London: Cassell, Women's Studies International Forum, 19, 35-43.
Wellington House. Shields, W., & Shields, L. (1983). Forcible rape: An evolutionary perspec-
Homer. (1999). Iliad. Cambridge, MA: Loeb Classical Library. tive. Ethology & Sociobiology, 4, 115-136.
Hyun-Kyung, C. (2000). "Your comfort versus my death": Korean comfort Stiglmayer, A. (1994). The rapes in Bosnia-Herzegovina. In A. Stiglmayer
women. In A. E. Barstow (Ed.), War's dirty secret: Rape, prostitution, (Ed.), Mass rape: The war against women in Bosnia-Herzegovina (pp.
and other crimes against women (pp. 13-25). Cleveland, OH: The 82-169). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
Pilgrim Press. Strathem, A., & Stewart, P. (2000). Collaborations and conflict: A leader
Jones, O. (1999). Sex, culture, and the biology of rape: Toward explanation through time. New York: Harcourt.
and prevention. California Law Review, 87, 821-941. Swiss, S., & Giller, J. (1993). Rape as a crime of war: A medical perspec-
Kamal, S. (1998). The 1971 genocide in Bangladesh and crimes committed tive. JAMA, 270, 612-615.
against women. In I. L. Sajor (Ed.), Common grounds: Violence against Symons, D. (1995). Beauty is in the adaptations of the beholder: The evo-
women in war and armed conflict situations (pp. 268-281). Quezon lutionary psychology of human female sexual attractiveness. In P.
City, Philippines: Ascent. Abramson & S. Pinkerton (Eds.), Sexual nature/sexual culture (pp.
Karras, R. M. (1990). Concubinage and slavery in the Viking age. 80-118). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Scandinavian Studies, 62, 141-162. Tanaka, Y. (1999). Introduction. In M. R. Henson (Ed.), Comfort woman: A
Littlewood, R. (1997). Military rape. Anthropology Today, 13, 7-17. Filipina's story of prostitution and slavery under the Japanese military
MacKinnon, C. A. (1994a). Rape, genocide, and human rights. In A. (pp. vii-xxi). Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Stiglmayer (Ed.), Mass rape: The war against women in Bosnia- Thomas, D., & Regan, R. (1994). Rape in war: Challenging the tradition of
Herzegovina (pp. 183-196). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. impunity. SAIS Review, 14, 81-99.
MacKinnon, C. A. (1994b). Turning rape into pornography: Postmodern Thornhill, R., & Palmer, C. (2000). A natural history of rape. Cambridge,
genocide. In A. Stiglmayer (Ed.), Mass rape: The war against women in MA: MIT Press.
Bosnia-Herzegovina (pp. 73-81). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. Thornhill, R., & Thornhill, N. (1983). Human rape: An evolutionary analy-
Menon, R. (1998). Borders and bodies: Recovering women sis. Ethology and Sociobiology, 4, 137-173.
in the national interest. In I. L. Sajor (Ed.), Common grounds: Violence Tooby, J., & Cosmides, L. (1992). The psychological foundations of culture.
against women in war and armed conflict situations (pp. 301-338). In J. Barkow, L. Cosmides, & J. Tooby (Eds.), The adapted mind (pp.
Quezon City, Phillipines: Asian Center for Women's Human Rights. 19-136). New York: Oxford University Press.
Meron, T. (1993). Henry's wars and Shakespeare's laws. Clarendon, UK: Valero, H. (1970). Yanoama: The narrative of a white girl kidnapped by
Oxford University Press. Amazonian Indians. New York: EP Dutton and Co.
Morris, M. (2000). In war and peace: Rape, war, and military culture. In A.
Barstow (Ed.), War's dirty secret: Rape, prostitution, and other crimes Manuscript accepted July 28, 2003