The last few decades have seen remarkable developments in international criminal justice, especially in relation to the pursuit of individuals responsible for sexual violence and other gender-based crimes. Historically ignored, justified, or minimised, this category of crimes now has a heightened profile in the international political and judicial arena. Despite this, gender is poorly understood, and blind spots, biases, and stereotypes prevail.

This book brings together leading feminist international criminal and humanitarian law academics and practitioners to examine the place of gender in international criminal law (ICL). It identifies and analyses past and current narrow understandings of gender, before considering how a limited conceptualization affects accountability efforts. The authors consider how best to implement a more nuanced understanding of gender in the practice of international criminal law by identifying possible responses, including embedding a sophisticated gender strategy into the practice of ICL, the gender-sensitive application of international human rights and humanitarian law, and encouraging a gender-competent approach to judging in ICL. The authors' aim is to strengthen efforts for accountability for all atrocity crimes-war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and aggression.

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Valerie Oosterveld is a professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Western Ontario, where she teaches, inter alia, public international law, capstone in international law, and outer space law. She holds a BSocSc from the University of Ottawa, an LLB from the University of Toronto, and an LLM and JSD from Columbia Law School. Her research and writing focus on gender issues within international criminal justice and, more recently, outer space law. Before joining the faculty in 2005, Professor Oosterveld served in the Legal Affairs Bureau of Canada’s (then) Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. In this role, she provided legal advice on international criminal accountability for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. She was a member of the Canadian delegation to the International Criminal Court (ICC) negotiations, as well as the subsequent ICC Assembly of States Parties and the 2010 Review Conference of the Rome Statute of the ICC. She is a member of the Ontario bar.

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