Sexual Abuse of Bosnian Women

We were appalled to read about the reports of gang rape and sexual abuse against the Bosnian women in the war zones of Yugoslavia (Nov. 30). The denial of human dignity of a powerless group of people is an abomination and should elicit moral indignation.

What is taking place in the former Yugoslavia is nothing less than the wanton destruction of the physical, emotional and psychological components of a people, resulting in their complete annihilation. Obviously, the current U.N. policy has been ineffective in halting the atrocities; the inefficiency and ineptitude, if not deliberate oversight, of the Free World have actually exacerbated the process of “ethnic cleansing.” The political will to stop this genocide is absent.

We demand that the U.S. government lead the U.N. and/or NATO to alleviate the suffering of innocent men, women and children through the following steps:

1. Recognize that rape is a war crime under the terms of the Geneva Convention; officially document the sexual violence against women and children in Bosnia so that these crimes can be prosecuted and the perpetrators brought to justice, and acknowledge the devastating and long-lasting impact of rape and the urgent need to provide effective treatment services for survivors.

2. Increase efforts to allow the adoption of unwanted Bosnian children, many of whom will be the result of sexual abuse.

3. Close all concentration camps, with particular attention to liberating sequestered women.

4. Lift the arms embargo on the Bosnian people, so men and women can defend themselves, their families, their property and their houses of worship.

Each day that passes without a fundamental shift toward resolving this travesty adds to the social degradation of our world.

LAILA AL-MARAYATI MD

NAHID ANSARI

Muslim Women’s League, Los Angeles

J. PATSY OSTROY

Commission on Women’s Rights,

Jewish Feminist Center,

American Jewish Congress, Los Angeles

SISTER ANNE GIBLIN, R.S.C.

Office of Religious Education

Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles