Gender Dimensions of Forced Marriage in International Criminal Law

Forced marriage in the atrocity context in Sierra Leone, Cambodia, Uganda and Mali has been addressed by various international criminal courts and tribunals. This chapter examines the gendered dimensions of the crime as charged or convicted in the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL), the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) and the International Criminal Court (ICC). It demonstrates that these courts have not necessarily recognised the gendered nature of forced marriage, and that the specific targeting of girls and women for forced marriage needs to be acknowledged by courts as a gendered crime. This chapter situates the discussion within a human rights law framework, starting from the perspective that forced marriage is a violation of human rights, such as the right to family, and noting whether the courts incorporate human rights law concepts into their forced marriage judgements.