When Helen Durham was a young law graduate in the 1990’s, she had an experience that inspired her to pursue a career in international humanitarian law.
A friend of hers was working with women who had experienced sexual violence during the former Yugoslavian conflicts and Durham wanted to assist in any way she could. She was surprised to find that what these women wanted most was a clear legal precedent that rape was a war crime.
Durham began her research, finding that rape and sexual violence in war were not only swept under the carpet by international law, but there was also a very distinct lack of data on sexual violence and its survivors. When she contacted the Department of Foreign Affairs she was simply told to “get the evidence yourself”.
She then began interviewing refugees from the former Yugoslavian conflict who had settled in Melbourne, amassing a huge amount of evidence and data on war crimes and sexual violence. This has contributed to the writing of international laws which now treat sexual violence in conflict as a war crime.
Rape and sexual violence in conflict in the mid 1990s had largely been ignored by history, government reforms and international law. In spite of this, Helen Durham believes that the laws of war allow for everyday miracles which often bring out the best in humanity.
She has since worked in conflict zones around the world, fighting for impartial first aid to all sides of war such as in Syria and northern Iraq and working towards having sexual violence being treated as a crime against humanity.
She spoke about her incredible career and experience during the recent TEDx Sydney event. Check out the video above.