Children born of wartime sexual violence and the limits of existence

Children born of wartime sexual violence are rarely included in post-conflict processes of recovery. Conceived of violence, these children are often marginalised and rejected by their mothers, community and nation. As a consequence, children born of wartime sexual violence are often subjected to infanticide, abandonment and social stigmatisation because they embody the identity of a 'child of the enemy' and a reminder to the nation of their suffering. By positioning children born of wartime sexual violence as a point of enquiry, this paper argues that a child born of wartime sexual violence is constructed as a symbol of collective victimhood and a spectacle to discipline a nation damaged by conflict. To reflect this argument, this paper will use Giorgio Agamben's and Judith Butler's work to explore how the recovering nation positions the child as a symbolic tool to construct a stable national identity while reclaiming sovereign power over a population. In doing so, this paper further questions how children born of war rape are able to engage in emancipatory practices within marginalised spaces.