Lola’s War: Rape Without Punishment - Hardcover

Simic, Olivera

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 981991941X ISBN 13: 9789819919413

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan, 2023

Synopsis

This longitudinal study is based on the story of Lola, who was gang raped during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992.  At the time, she was in a detention camp with her young children. Only one of Lola’s several perpetrators was convicted but his sentence of six years of imprisonment has never been actioned by the Bosnian judiciary. Lola’s rapist is still free and she lives in continual fear that he will retaliate against her and her children for her role in his trial.

 

This book has been shortlisted for the Australian Legal Research Awards 2024.

About this title

About the Author

Olivera Simić is Associate Professor with the Griffith Law School, Griffith University, Australia.

From the Back Cover

“This book is an important contribution to transitional justice scholarship. In a sensitive manner, it reminds readers of the need to listen to the everyday stories of survivors of violence. The accounts of one woman’s loss and personal heartache in a search for justice, are moving.”

  ― Professor Elisabeth Porter, University of South Australia, Australia

“Beautifully written, deep, reflective and thoughtful, Olivera Simic's new book takes the reader on an intimate and up-close journey for justice of a wartime sexual violence survivor in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The life story of Lola is a rich and detailed story of a woman showcasing lived experiences and consequences of searching for justice in the aftermath of atrocities, which are often inadvertent and unpredictable. It is filled with hopes, disappointments, traumas but also resilience and empowerment. It is an absolute must read for everyone engaged and interested in post-conflict transitional justice.”

  ― Associate Professor Barbora Hola, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Senior Researcher, Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement (NSCR)

"Lola's War makes me think, makes me think hard thoughts. And because Lola herself is so wonderfully portrayed here, one cannot escape the hard thinking - about gendered war, about violence against women, about personal sovereignty, about justice. Olivera Simic has done us all a great service by challenging us, while never betraying Lola's integrity."

  ― Professor Cynthia Enloe, author of Twelve Feminist Lessons of War

This longitudinal study is based on the story of Lola, who was gang raped during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992.  At the time, she was in a detention camp with her young children. Only one of Lola’s several perpetrators was convicted but his sentence of six years of imprisonment has never been actioned by the Bosnian judiciary. Lola’s rapist is still free and she lives in continual fear that he will retaliate against her and her children for her role in his trial.

Olivera Simić is Associate Professor with the Griffith Law School, Australia.

Edition details

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Publication date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 981991941X
• ISBN 13: 9789819919413
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 197