CONFLICT-RELATED SEXUAL VIOLATION: A WEAPON OF COERCION OF FEMALES IN BOKO HARAM TERRORISM

Conflict related sexual violence is a pervasive, deeply troubling issue. Although it affects individuals of all demographics, it disproportionately targets females. In Boko Haram terrorism, females experienced intense gender-specific violence ranging from torture, forced marriage, sexual violations, and sexual slavery, acts which violated international human rights laws. The sect targeted and incorporated females into its war tactics as suicide bombers, and procreators of future jihadists. This article is an examination of how Boko Haram recruited young females into its movement, and weaponised them through coercion. It assessed the sect’s use of conflict-related sexual violence as a weapon to coerce women into subservience, transforming them from victims to sympathisers, conspirators and perpetrators. It evaluated the lived experiences of these females, and the challenges they faced accessing justice in spite of existing legal frameworks on women and girls rights. Using the history method of qualitative research design, it gathered and analysed data from related secondary sources including books, journal articles, reports, and interviews from the media, relevant governmental and nongovernmental organisations. It submitted that females in Boko Haram were weaponised through sexual coercion, but that they remained silent and hard to reach. This was in part due to the ineffectiveness of existing legal frameworks which had little or no impact on the lives of the females in Boko Haram territories. It concluded that, sovereign states and intergovernmental organisations must acquire the will and capabilities to effectively protect the rights of females in Boko Haram terrorism, provide support for survivors, and hold perpetrators accountable.