The international politics of rape, sex and the family in Sierra Leone

This research paper examines the exclusion of women's experiences from mainstream depictions of war, specifically focusing on female soldiers in Sierra Leone. It argues for the recognition of wartime rape as a tactic of war and the need to address the insecurity faced by women and children during and after conflict to create effective post-conflict policies.

• Mainstream depictions of war frequently exclude the voices and experiences of women, which the author identifies as a significant gap in the discourse.
• The research, based on interviews with over 50 female soldiers aged 18 to 32 in Makeni at the end of 2005, identifies five areas of silence and argues that failing to identify rape as a war tactic or discuss children born of rape marginalizes these issues within security, development, and conflict studies.
• Acknowledging the diverse forms of violence and insecurity experienced by women and children is essential for developing representative post-conflict policies, with the transitional recovery period offering a key chance to transform gender relations.

APA

MacKenzie, M. (n.d.). The international politics of rape, sex and the family in Sierra Leone. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.org/research/papers/the-international-politics-of-rape-sex-and-the-family-in-sierra-leone

Chicago

MacKenzie, Megan. The international politics of rape, sex and the family in Sierra Leone. Institute for Security Studies, n.d. https://issafrica.org/research/papers/the-international-politics-of-rape-sex-and-the-family-in-sierra-leone.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=MacKenzie |first1=Megan |title=The international politics of rape, sex and the family in Sierra Leone |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |url=https://issafrica.org/research/papers/the-international-politics-of-rape-sex-and-the-family-in-sierra-leone |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mackenziendinternational, author = {MacKenzie, Megan}, title = {{The international politics of rape, sex and the family in Sierra Leone}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.org/research/papers/the-international-politics-of-rape-sex-and-the-family-in-sierra-leone}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }