Introduction

While drug usage and sexual violence are both used as socialisation mechanisms by armed groups who rely on abduction to boost their numbers, there is a significant lack of research into the links between the two. Anecdotal accounts of drug use and sexual violence occur frequently in political violence literature, but the relationship between the two remains unaddressed. This article offers avenues for future research to address these shortcomings and identify the relationship between drug use in conflict zones and sexual violence. It reviews the literature regarding sexual violence in conflict and criminological literature concerning drug use to establish a link between the two variables, then sets out a pair of hypotheses and methodology to potentially test this relationship. Finally, this article suggests Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of the Congo as two possible case studies to test this theory.

Literature Review

Until the early 1990s, the primordialist explanation of political violence was dominant in the literature. These theories claimed that most violence against civilians was arbitrary and senseless, motivated by irrational and inevitable ethnic hatreds between groups with monolithic social and economic preferences (Huntington 1993; Kaplan 1993). However, this primordialist framework was recently replaced by a more nuanced explanation of violence against civilians, which argued that political violence in ethnically diverse, “conflict-prone” areas was extremely rare (Fearon and Laitin 1996; Chiozza 2002) and that violence served a strategic purpose (Valentino 2014). Consequently, two approaches explaining variation in insurgents’ violence against civilians emerged: firstly, that the organisational structures of insurgent groups predict their levels of violence, and secondly, that this violence resulted from strategic decisions made by leaders within insurgent groups.

Theories of sexual violence in conflict have followed a similar pattern to theories of violence against civilians. While sexual violence was previously believed to be caused by opportunity, hormone increases, and a desire to reinstate patriarchal norms, these theories have been replaced by explanations that posit that sexual violence is used as a strategic tool in combat for ethnic cleansing and inflicting terror upon civilians (Goldstein 2001; Wood 2006; Rakisits 2008; Cohen 2017). Furthermore, the levels of sexual violence in conflict vary between organisations. Brutal sexual violence was rife in some organisations with weaker norms and leadership structures such as the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) in Sierra Leone (Wood 2009). In others, such as among the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka, sexual violence was rare due to strict codes of conduct enforced by the leadership’s draconian punishments against perpetrators (Wood 2009). Theories claiming that all men will engage in sexual violence if provided with the opportunity, the hormonal impulses, and a desire to reassert collapsed patriarchal norms closely mirror primordialist theories of violence. Both sets of theories assume that the outcome they attempt to explain, whether ethnic or sexual violence, is inevitable. Thus, we understand sexual violence not as an irrational, sadistic act perpetrated by all insurgents, but rather, as a tactic chosen by certain leadership groups for strategic gains in conflict.

Cohen (2017) proposes the argument that sexual violence, especially when committed in groups, serves a key strategic function in socialising new recruits. Gang rape is a particularly powerful socialisation tool for several reasons. Firstly, it poses extremely high barriers to entry: not only do soldiers risk sexually transmitted infections from the victim or other perpetrators (Cohen 2017), they must also transgress deeply inculcated social norms against gang rape (Mitton 2015). Because engaging in gang rape is a brutal, horrific act, soldiers fear they might be shunned if they confess to or attempt to describe their experience to anyone external to their unit; thus, they bond more closely to their unit (Franklin 2004; Mitton 2015; Cohen 2017). Secondly, through embodying masculinity in the most violent and brutal way possible and exerting power over a defenceless victim (Brownmiller 1975), soldiers harden their hyper masculine identity and take on a new, more violent identity (Goldstein 2001; Baaz and Stern 2009). Partaking in gang rape allows soldiers to assume the role of a strong, virile man in a performance for their unit. To extend this analogy, the others involved in the assault become the audience and the victim is objectified as an unwilling prop (Franklin 2004). Consequently, perpetrators come to associate this masculine role with their membership in the armed group. They remain within the unit and form closer bonds with those within the group, as this further affirms their new, hyper-masculine identities. Finally, engaging in violence as a group makes perpetrators identify more with their unit; this effect is amplified when the violence is directed at an out-group (Littman and Paluck 2015; Cohen 2017) or when the rituals are more extreme (Winslow 1999).

Socialisation is an especially important function for groups who forcibly recruit a high proportion of combatants. These groups frequently face significant barriers to building unit cohesion, as abductees tend to be strangers who neither know nor trust each other. However, for the unit to function and to mitigate the risk of desertion and mutiny, individuals within the unit must form strong interpersonal bonds, establish accepted group norms and rely on each other (Goldstein 2001; Cohen 2013, 2017). Group acts of violence solve this dilemma, as they organise individuals and create a social structure where there exists none (Weinstein and Humphreys 2008). Gang rape, for its unusually strong ability to bind groups together, is either tolerated by leaders who recognise its practical use (Winslow 1999; Mitton 2015; Cohen 2017) or who have themselves have been subjected to this socialisation (Wood and Toppelberg 2017). Thus, increased reports of sexual violence in warfare are associated with armed groups who forcibly recruit their troops (Cohen 2013). Cohen (2017) finds that this is especially likely in groups which forcibly abduct younger children; not only are these children removed from their social structures and families, they also seek to socially establish themselves in their armed group by adhering to its norms and regulations. In these situations, group sexual violence helps abducted child soldiers establish themselves socially within their unit. Forcibly recruited child soldiers cannot exit their armed groups without risking death or torture (Weinstein and Humphreys 2008; Mitton 2015); thus, by following the group and engaging in brutal sexual violence, they avoid ostracism from a peer group they cannot escape and establish themselves within that group (Goldstein 2001; Franklin 2004; Wood and Toppelberg 2017). Others engage in this sexual violence out of the fear that if they do not, they will become victims themselves (Franklin 2004). Group sexual violence also poses benefits for forcibly recruited child soldiers: the prospect of group rape is often presented to them as the “spoils of war”, they form a closer bond with their unit, and they receive a masculine role which makes them feel like adult men in a scenario where they are insecure and powerless (Franklin 2004; Mitton 2015; Cohen 2017). Taken together, the vast majority of sexual violence literature proves that group rape is an unusually strong socialising mechanism for armed groups. However, missing from the discussion is an explanation of the role of drugs in group rape and how the two variables interact.

Drug use is anecdotally referenced as a feature of combat zones: specifically, in Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where sexual violence and forced recruitment of child soldiers were also prevalent. Much of this anecdotal evidence initially attributed these acts of seemingly mindless sadism to drug use (Shepler 2002; Maclure and Denov 2007; Baaz and Stern 2008). However, the literature on causal links between drug usage and violence in criminological contexts is inconclusive on whether drugs make individuals more violent. Boles and Miotto (2003), in a review of this literature, find that while cocaine makes individuals more violent in laboratory settings, several variables confound its link to perpetrating violence in real life settings, weakening this assumption that drug usage turns individuals into sadistic, brutal killers. Further research shows that withdrawal is more likely to induce violence than drug usage itself (Miczek 1994). But while drugs may not directly cause individuals to become more violent, the social context in which individuals take them does. Drug usage can condition an individual into becoming more violent: taking drugs shortly before conflict, as done in Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, builds a “temporal association” between drugs and violence (Mitton 2015). Those who take drugs before committing acts of violence come to believe that drugs increase their propensity for violence, creating a self-fulfilling prophecy (Mitton 2015). Additionally, drug usage during violent outbursts allows individuals to remove themselves from these situations and abdicate responsibility afterwards by claiming they were on drugs (Shepler 2002). Notably, in criminological literature, drug usage is closely associated with sexual violence, especially gang rape. These findings are backed up by a vast amount of criminological research (Jewkes et al. 2006). Thus, we understand that while drugs may not explicitly cause sexual violence, they enable and facilitate it.

Similarly to sexual violence, drug usage is a crucial part of the socialisation process for forcibly recruited child soldiers. In Sierra Leone, the RUF drugged captives and new recruits to desensitise them to violence (Maclure and Denov 2007; Mitton, 2015). Once drugged, forcible recruits become more pliable and responsive to orders which contravene previously held norms against violence (Maclure and Denov 2007). Further, when given hallucinatory drugs, Keen (2005) finds through anecdotal interviews that in Sierra Leone, when child soldiers consumed drugs, civilians looked like “insects”. This dehumanisation facilitated large amounts of violence; because child soldiers did not perceive civilians to be fully human, they were better able to suspend norms surrounding the treatment of humans. Finally, in the aftermath of having been ordered to commit atrocities and brutal acts, further drug usage helps individuals cope with the guilt of these actions and provides relief from trauma and painful withdrawals (Keen 2005).

However, no work has been done to understand the link between drug usage and sexual violence in conflict, despite both being prevalent at the same time in several instances of conflict.

Theory

Building on the framework introduced by Cohen (2017), the following arguments regarding the connection between sexual violence and drug use in conflict zones are reached:

H1: Insurgent groups reliant on forcible recruitment of child soldiers where drug usage is widespread will commit higher rates of sexual violence.
H1a: Insurgent groups reliant on forcible recruitment of child soldiers where drug usage is widespread will commit higher rates of gang rape.

The thrust of these hypotheses holds that drug usage fuels sexual violence by combatant groups whose numbers are largely comprised of child soldiers. This prediction is made for two reasons.

Firstly, drug use facilitates sexual violence in non-conflict contexts. Rape and gang rape are both associated with drug and alcohol abuse in criminological contexts (Jewkes et al. 2006). Boles and Miotto (2003) find that outside of a laboratory, the direct causal relationship between cocaine usage and propensity towards violence is influenced by the social context in which the perpetrators of violence are embedded. However, the trauma and violence experienced by forcibly abducted recruits, coupled with the mounting pressure to partake in violence from peers and commanders in conflict settings are more likely to influence an abducted recruit to be violent than not. The violent surroundings of conflict zones provide sufficient social context for this finding in non- conflict contexts to be extrapolated into conflict contexts. Thus, while drug usage may not explicitly cause sexual violence, its consumption enables the incidence of sexual violence and increases the likelihood that individuals engage in it. Even if this is not the case, Miczek (1994) finds that violence is more likely during withdrawal periods in non-conflict scenarios; consequently, fearful, abducted individuals suffering from withdrawal symptoms may be further predisposed towards committing atrocities.

Secondly, gang rape and sexual violence are both tools for socialising forcibly abducted recruits. Drugging abducted recruits desensitises them to violence and inhibits their understanding of the world around them, which increases the likelihood that they will follow orders commanders give them (Maclure and Denov 2007). Furthermore, by providing drugs to abducted recruits over time, even surreptitiously, commanders build dependency on themselves and force abducted recruits to remain with the unit to avoid painful withdrawals (Mitton 2015). Similarly, commanders employ gang rape as a tool to break down social norms, build unit cohesion, and provide terrified captives with an avenue through which to reassert their masculinity, as discussed above (Goldstein 2001; Cohen 2017). As both variables play a role in socialising forcibly abducted recruits, it is possible that they are used in conjunction; commanders can instrumentalise the desensitisation and increased likelihood of obeying orders induced by drug consumption to force recruits to participate in a gang rape and receive all the practical associated benefits.

Methods for Future Research

Having developed a robust theoretical model connecting drug use and sexual violence in conflict zones, the following section proposes how this theory ought to be tested.

As alluded to in the introduction, Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo are ideal contexts to test the hypotheses developed and establish a more robust casual relationship. These conflicts heavily feature the variables of interest: combatants’ rates of drug usage are high (Maclure and Denov 2007; Mitton 2015), conflict-related sexual violence is commonplace (Baaz and Stern 2008, 2009; Goff 2010; Maedl 2011; Cohen 2013, 2017), and a significant proportion of the violence is perpetrated by child soldiers (Shepler 2002; Kim 2006; Rakisits 2008).

If accurate, the theory suggests that results for both cases may be similar. However, a significant difference between incidents of drug usage and incidents of sexual violence in each country may indicate that the theory is inaccurate.

Further, the drugs used in each conflict differ. Consumption of cannabis and alcohol was widespread in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Baaz and Stern 2008), whereas in Sierra Leone, cocaine was consumed alongside cannabis and alcohol, often mixed with gunpowder to produce a substance known as “brown-brown” (Mitton 2015). This disparity between the substances used in each conflict ought to clarify the effects of cocaine when consumed in conjunction with cannabis and alcohol relative to the consumption of cannabis and alcohol on their own.

The approach to data collection in future research ought to mirror the approaches taken by Cohen (2017) and Baaz and Stern (2008), who collected data through fieldwork, surveys, and ethnographic interviews. Moreover, following from the adoption of the approach used by Cohen (2017) and Baaz and Stern (2008), the results of this research ought not to be extrapolated widely and generalised across other cases. Rather, these results will add to our understanding of the use of sexual violence and drug consumption to socialise forcibly abducted recruits in Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

These interviews ought to be conducted with perpetrators of sexual violence, as perpetrators are more likely than victims to know whether they consumed drugs and what types of drugs they consumed prior to and following incidents of sexual violence. Additionally, it is easier to find perpetrators than victims of sexual assault; victims are likely to either be killed following the atrocities inflicted upon them or die from wounds sustained during the assault, whereas perpetrators are more likely to survive. Victims are also less likely than perpetrators to be reintegrated into society due to stigmas surrounding victims of sexual violence (Shepler 2002; Kim 2006).

During the interview process, incidents of sexual violence and gang rape should be coded as drug- fuelled or not drug-fuelled. Incidents of drug-fuelled sexual violence and gang rape should then be subjected to further process tracing to establish how drug consumption influenced the perpetration of sexual violence. The use of process tracing is crucial to obtaining useful data; while combatants may have been plied with drugs and forced to perpetrate acts of sexual violence on separate occasions as part of the socialisation process, these incidents may have occurred independently of one another. By analysing the trajectories of each incident as recounted through ethnographic interviews, a direct relationship between drug usage and sexual violence during processes of socialisation can be established and the relationship between the two variables assessed.

However, this model is not without its limitations – there exist several serious methodological challenges to collecting data concerning sexual violence. Low rates of reporting due to stigma around being a perpetrator and trauma or substance-induced memory loss bias the sample towards perpetrators who are willing and able to report having partaken in sexual violence (Goldstein 2001; Wood 2006; Maedl 2011). Furthermore, the destruction of infrastructure and societal collapse as a result of the conflict in Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of the Congo further complicates data collection by increasing the difficulty of finding individuals who have perpetrated sexual assault, and those that are found are typically concentrated in cities rather than rural areas which biases the sample towards urban areas (Wood 2006).

Conclusion

Drug use has a significant impact on an individual’s functioning, the socialisation of forcibly recruited child soldiers, and the violence perpetrated by insurgent groups. While previously, the relationship and interaction between the two has received no attention in the political violence literature, this research ought to demonstrate to what extent drugs affect sexual violence against civilians. This piece has developed a theoretical framework through which drug use and sexual violence in conflict settings can be plausibly connected. If this effect is strong, it ought to provide a key understanding to supplement our previous understanding of sexual violence in conflict, inform the reintegration of forcibly recruited child soldiers into society, and further demonstrate the need to cut off violent insurgent groups from drug imports.

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