Curating conflict-related sexual violence: gender, politics and memory at war museums

Women's rights activists have described museums and other heritage sites as tools of advocacy to fight the scourge of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV). Museums can sensitize the public to sexual crimes related to war and genocide and, it is hoped, help pursue justice for survivors and prevent further violence. For war museums, the curation of CRSV nonetheless poses ethical and political challenges. This study asks, how do leading war museums in the United States and United Kingdom curate the memory of CRSV, including that perpetrated by liberal democracies? It examines war exhibits at the Imperial War Museum (London) and the Smithsonian National Museum of American History (Washington, D.C.) and considers strategies, dilemmas, and openings in their attempts at evoking CRSV. IWM privileges verbal narrative and centres CRSV perpetrated by authoritarian states. NMAH presents photos featuring sexual violence perpetrated by military personnel of the United States, a liberal democracy, while also obscuring this violence by not verbally recognizing it. The article argues that each exhibit addresses some feminist concerns while obfuscating others. It concludes by advocating curatorial strategies that invite a visceral empathetic connection with victims/survivors - testimonies, art, and immersive experiences - while balancing conflicting feminist ethical imperatives.