Intersectionality: A Tool for the Gender Analysis of Sexual Violence at the ICC

The Policy Paper on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence commits the ICC Prosecutor to conduct a ‘gender analysis’ based on the understanding of gender as a social construct and its interplay with other factors of discrimination. However, international criminal law has not yet grappled with understanding ‘socio-legal’ approaches on gender and discrimination. Based on different case studies, this article explores ways in which ‘intersectionality’ can make a contribution regarding sexual violence crimes in aspects such as the gravity assessment, the contextualisation of crimes, and the drafting of charges. It demonstrates that intersectionality´s ‘broader approach’ improves the understanding of crimes to tackle them more effectively.