Seen and unseen: sexual and gender-based crimes in the Khmer Rouge Tribunal’s Case 002/02 judgment

The most recent judgment of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), delivered in November 2018 and published in March 2019, provides rich scope for gender analysis. Some sexual and gender-based crimes are highly visible in this judgment, while others are obscured or overlooked. In the spotlight is the inhumane act of “forced marriage”, which, according to the judgment, was committed against both women and men. By contrast, incidents of sexual violence against men, forced breeding, and the repression of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities are relegated to the margins. These gaps and silences are not unique to the ECCC; rather, they are continuous with the patterns in previous international and internationalised courts.