Using War to Shift Peacetime Norms: The Example of Forced Marriage in Sierra Leone

In this chapter, I explore the interaction between institutions of international criminal justice and local women’s rights struggles in post-conflict societies. Using the example of the forced marriage prosecutions by the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL), I demonstrate the failure of international institutions to provide ‘gender justice’ through their reinforcement of conservative, patriarchal social and cultural norms. At the same time, I point to ways in which some women in Sierra Leone have made strategic and somewhat subversive use of the SCSL’s judgments to support their own social and political claims. This points to a potential for international law to contribute to struggles for social change beyond the confines of institutional settings and elite actors’ interventions. I therefore conclude by urging for continued critique of international institutions to deconstruct their colonial, racist and sexist tendencies. However, I argue we must also pay attention to the ways in which subaltern groups and individuals may make use of the discursive and symbolic power of international law. This is necessary to respond to the epistemic and actual exclusion these groups have traditionally faced. It may also provide us with new possibilities for strategic, productive and creative engagement with international institutions.