Bosnia Ordered To Pay Rape Victims of War

The United Nations has ordered Bosnia to pay a Bosnian-Muslim woman who was a victim of rape during its war in the 1990s. Bosnia was found guilty of violating the U.N.'s international torture laws as rape was used as a weapon of war by their soldiers on more than 20,000 women.

The woman filed a complaint against the Bosnian-Serb soldier who raped her and while he was ordered to pay 15,000 euros, the man didn’t have the funds to pay his victim. The U.N. Committee Against Torture decided the state should pay her and set up a fund to compensate other victims of war financially, as well as providing for their medical and psychological needs.

This was the first case of sexual violence brought to the U.N. Committee Against Torture. About 100,000 people died during the Bosnia war.

The Realist Woman’s take:

While I’m still not sure how this order will be enforced, this case may set a precedent for other sexual violence cases. It's hard for me to believe that rape won't continue to be used as a weapon of war, but I think if countries in conflict are being held financially accountable for sexual violence victims of war, there may be some policy changes to protect women against sexual violence. I don't know. It sounds like a long shot but something has to be done to protect women during war. 

The Bosnian war in the 1990s was absolutely devasting for that nation and reparations for its victims sounds more than right to me.