Quote by Zainab Bangura: “Sexual violence in conflict is not a byproduct of war. It is a weapon of war.”

Calling rape a 'byproduct' of war implies it is accidental — an unfortunate side effect. Bangura insists it is deliberate: a military strategy used to terrorise, displace, and destroy communities. Naming it as a weapon is the first step toward prosecuting it as a war crime rather than treating it as an inevitable tragedy.

Bangura made this statement in her role as UN Special Representative, during a period of intense conflict in the Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Syria in which mass sexual violence was documented as a systematic military tactic. The international community was debating how to make accountability for these crimes real rather than symbolic.

Sierra Leonean diplomat and politician who served as the United Nations Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict from 2012 to 2017. Before her UN role she served as Sierra Leone's Minister of Foreign Affairs and was a key figure in the country's post-civil war reconstruction. She is one of the foremost international voices on conflict-related sexual violence.