Rape, the masculine thing to do?

Abstract: This thesis deals with the vast number of rapes that have been conducted in DRC (the Democratic Republic of Congo) since the outbreak of war in ’98. To do this I have used a comparative case approach where I have compared the DRC military with the UN’s peacekeeping forces in DRC. I have done this through content analysis, and I have analyzed studies and reports from my two different cases. By using this method I have been able to determine different themes on how rape in DRC are explained. I have then used a theoretical framework on masculinity theory in war to analyze these themes. My theoretical framework explained how militarized masculinities are theorized and how peacekeeping forces construct their masculinity. The four main themes that I have seen to explain why the soldiers in both DRC military and the UN peacekeeping force is: failed masculinity, high heterosexual sex drive, being a protector/ provider and gender inequality. Especially the first two themes I have seen being important when explaining acts of rape in DRC. Failed masculinity makes the soldiers want to reassert their masculinity and violence is a prominent feature of masculinity which means that resorting to violence to reassert one’s failed masculinity might be an easy choice. The attitude of males’ high heterosexual sex drive also normalizes rape and enables the soldiers to use rape as tool to reassert their masculinity. It might seem as the perfect way to reassert their masculinity for some soldiers since it both includes the masculine feature of being violent and showing off the masculine high heterosexual sex drive.