Framing in the Making

Abstract

Previous research on sexual violence has focused on individual-level behaviors that typically include a single victim in an isolated event. Criminologists have failed to examine sexual violence as a group-level phenomenon, which is often exhibited during war. For this study, case study methodology was used to analyze court transcripts from the United Nations, detailing the conflict of Sierra Leone. By utilizing the framing perspective, the purpose of this study was to determine the nature of sexual violence during war, focusing specifically on whether the evolution of sex offending motivations changes overtime. A better understanding of how sex offending becomes a group behavior will expand the current literature on collective and sexual violence, identify preconflict indicators of collective sexual violence, and provide strategies for postconflict mediations in warring countries.