Inevitable or Preventable? The Biosocial Theory of Wartime Rape

Abstract

Sexual violence has likely been a feature of warfare throughout human history and may even have been present during prehistoric conflicts. In recent decades, international policymakers have improved efforts to prohibit and prosecute wartime sexual violence, including holding criminal tribunals for suspected perpetrators of wartime rape. Social scientists have offered a range of potential explanations for wartime rape and have attempted to bring the data on wartime rape under a single, unified theory. Many such theories have identified sociocultural factors such as patriarchal values, hostile attitudes toward women, or hatred toward specific ethnic groups as potential causes of wartime rape. We review the competing sociocultural theories of wartime rape citing evidence from evolutionary psychology, biology, and anthropology. We highlight strengths of the biosocial theory, which consider the influence of both social and biological factors on wartime rape, and enjoy strong theory-data fit. Specifically, we emphasize the ability of the biosocial theory to not only explain the existence of wartime rape as a near-universal phenomenon, but also its ability to explain variation in rates of wartime rape across armed conflicts.