Reparations: More than monetary compensation

For the first time in the history of the Bosnian War Crimes Court, judges have included compensation to a wartime rape victim as part of the court’s ruling. On June 24, 2015, Bosiljko Marković and Ostoja Marković were each ordered to pay roughly $15,000 to the woman they raped during the war. The court also sentenced each man to ten years in prison. The following Monday, June 29, the court sentenced a former soldier to eight years in prison for raping a civilian during the war, and also ordered the defendant to pay roughly $16,500 to the survivor.

Victims of the Bosnian war are buried in Sarajevo. The war was marked by intense sexualized violence that ruined the lives of old women and young girls alike. (Michael Büker)

Such reparations orders for survivors of wartime rape are a huge step forward in the transitional justice process following the 1992-95 Bosnian war. It is estimated that 35,000 women were raped during the conflict. Until now, Bosnian courts have encouraged victims to file claims for compensation in civil proceedings—which can be prohibitively expensive and also requires survivors to reveal their identities. Now that it looks like the War Crimes Court is willing to include reparations orders as part of its rulings, it is expected that many more women will come forward.

Given the anticipated spike in reparations decisions, the court should bear in mind the international community’s consensus that effective reparations must be gender-sensitive and transformative as it proceeds in this important work.

To read the rest of this article, please click over to the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security.

To read Siege's conflict profile on Bosnia, click here.