The "Black Blouse Girl": The History of Sexual Violence in the Vietnam War and Opportunities for Justice
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Although there has been extensive documentation of the atrocities committed by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War, little to no academic literature exists on the sexual violence perpetrated by the U.S. military against Vietnamese civilians. In 2018, I identified a massive archive of U.S. military records that details cases of sexual violence committed against over 400 Vietnamese civilians. Using these case files as an initial evidentiary basis, my thesis explores the following research question: What is the history of the sexual violence perpetrated by the U.S. military against Vietnamese civilians during the Vietnam War, and what legal and political mechanisms existed to bring justice to victims? Through qualitative analysis of U.S. military records, tribunal transcripts, American soldiers’ and Vietnamese survivors’ memoirs, and interviews with Vietnamese and American civilians, I construct a comprehensive account of the sexual violence that occurred during the Vietnam War and explore the U.S. government’s silence surrounding these crimes. I also evaluate the viability of several different mechanisms of transitional justice within the context of addressing wartime sexual violence in Vietnam. Ultimately, I outline recommended frameworks for transitional justice for Vietnamese survivors and their families, with the goal of holding the U.S. more accountable for war crimes they commit and setting a precedent for rule of law and justice for wartime sexual violence.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Date created | May 2019 |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | Huynh, Audrey |
|---|---|
| Advisor | Van Schaack, Beth |
Subjects
| Subject | International Relations |
|---|---|
| Subject | Vietnam War |
| Subject | Sexual Violence |
| Subject | War Crimes |
| Genre | Thesis |
Bibliographic information
Access conditions
- Use and reproduction
- User agrees that, where applicable, content will not be used to identify or to otherwise infringe the privacy or confidentiality rights of individuals. Content distributed via the Stanford Digital Repository may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor.
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
Preferred citation
- Preferred Citation
- Huynh, Audrey. (2019). The "Black Blouse Girl": The History of Sexual Violence in the Vietnam War and Opportunities for Justice. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at: https://purl.stanford.edu/rd378vc6937
Collection
Stanford University, Program in International Relations, Honors Theses
View other items in this collection in SearchWorksContact information
- Contact
- ahuynh14@stanford.edu
Also listed in
Loading usage metrics...