The article presents the characteristics of sexual violence during the Yugoslav Wars at the beginning of the 1990s. Towards the explanation of the phenomenon of conflict related sexual violence, it introduces the milestones of the history of the Federation and the power-based nationalistic narratives which had led to war. Then, with the main focus on Bosnia and Herzegovina, it analyzes survivors’ testimonies, to demonstrate how the narratives appeared during the perpetration of rape. It briefly touches upon on cases of Bosniak-Croatian and Serb-Croatian phases of the war. The primary aim of the research is to highlight how political narratives and goals appeared in the characteritics of sexual violence. The results of the study shows why a general, and exclusive explanation of conflict related sexual violence is unacceptable.
Keywords: ethnic cleansing, genocide, conflict related sexual violence, nationalism, political narrative
