Can new technologies improve survivor-focused accountability for conflict-related sexual violence ?  

We’re looking to explore this impactful and sensitive topic as part of the FCDO Frontier Technologies Programme.  

Specifically, we want to see whether virtual and augmented reality technologies can support CRSV accountability in international courts.  

We’ve identified some examples of where we think these technologies can have a real impact along the justice chain and will be working with the International Criminal Court in The Hague to explore these further. If you have any suggestions or ideas for collaboration, please get in touch with us at david@hellobrink.co.

Conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) is a heinous crime that can also constitute international crimes such as war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. Women and girls are primarily victims of CRSV, although sexual violence against men and boys is generating increasing attention. 

Achieving justice for these inhumane crimes is difficult. Sexual crimes are underreported even in peacetime, and because of its occurrence during times of instability, prosecuting conflict-related sexual violence crimes can be difficult.  

To tackle this impunity, where international courts are involved, they build up cases against high-profile individuals, usually senior officials of a conflict group who are seen as most responsible for widespread violence of their subordinates.

While the high-profile, public-facing nature of the trial means that efforts to safeguard survivors, such as masking their identity, are extremely important, current identity protection measures may not be enough to reassure survivors to step forward. 

Additionally, while for some survivors, testifying in court can be a positive experience where they can exercise their agency, the process of seeking justice does carry a high risk of re-traumatisation, particularly when a survivor has to give court testimonies far from home and has already described their experience multiple times. 

We employ a survivor-focused perspective to explore the role of new technologies like virtual and augmented reality to reduce the re-traumatisation of survivors, and potentially improve the accountability outcomes of an international court like the ICC.  

For us, a survivor-focused approach means thinking about this technology beyond the courtroom, through the whole justice chain. This starts from the moment a crime is reported to a local investigator, for example, to post-conviction redress. 

Getting started 

Jaye Ho is Deputy Head of CRSV Accountability at the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). She applied for seed funding as part of the Frontier Technologies Hub’s Livestreaming programme, which matches FCDO staff with technologists and other experts to learn about the potential of frontier technologies for social impact.  

Jaye and the Hub brought together a team to take part in a first “sprint” to explore this topic, in September 2022. The team includes Indira Knight, Professor Jo-Anne Bichard, and Dr Melanie Flory from the Royal College of Art, and Erin Farrell Rosenberg, adjunct professor at the University of Cincinnati College of Law and an international criminal law specialist. 

We first wanted to see if we could identify new solution ideas that align with the legal parameters of international investigations and prosecutions, as well as whether they align with a survivor-based approach. We measured our solutions against the Murad code - a global code of conduct for interacting with CRSV survivors when gathering their information and evidence.

We then wanted to bring the emerging ideas to various international courts to gather feedback and engagement. To do so, members of the team travelled to The Hague in November 2022, where we presented our initial findings to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and other stakeholders.

Project Ideas 

Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) has the potential to help survivors of conflict related sexual violence. It has already been used by survivors to tell their stories; Nobodies Listening is an immersive exhibition with a virtual reality experience that includes an account from a young Yazidi woman who was abducted and sexually enslaved by ISIS. 

We present here 11 ideas that were developed through research on how AR or VR can be used to help survivors of conflict related sexual violence through their court journey.

AR to show the survivors injuries 

During the sentencing and reparations stage of the court's proceedings, survivors' injuries could be shown in 3D using augmented reality visualisations. This would allow members of the Court to view both internal and external injuries, see them from different angles and zoom into details. This could reduce the need for the survivor to recount what happened to them, potentially reducing the re-traumatising effect of re-living their harms.  

AR witness representation/identity while testifying 

In court, the witnesses face is seen by the judges and the accused, but in the live stream of the proceedings to the public, their faces are obscured for protection. Instead of the blurring or pixelation currently used to obscure features, AR technologies could be employed. This could be an AR avatar on a screen or as a hologram, or a face filter which matches their facial expressions while hiding their identity. By using AR in this way, the public may find the witness more relatable.  

In the future it could also be a way for witnesses to give evidence with them appearing as a hologram in the court, a new way for witnesses to give testimony remotely. 

A VR representation of a conflict community for the court 

The judges and legal staff can’t always go to the area where the conflict took place because it is too dangerous. VR could be a way for them to visit virtually to get a better understanding of the community, the environment and the society where the conflict happened.   

A VR representation of the conflict environment 

VR could be used to visualise an area where a particular incident in a conflict happened. This could help the court understand the layout of the conflict site, lines of sight for the incident, or the distance between different locations.  

This could be an individual or shared experience, allowing for discussion inside VR. People could interact with the environment to pull up different details or move between maps and 3D representations of the area. 

VR for familiarisation 

If survivors are appearing as witnesses in person in the court, VR could be used in a number of ways to help them feel more comfortable with the experience. By using a virtual court, survivors could familiarise themselves with the setting and the technology used in the court. Guided through the virtual environment by an avatar speaking their language, the survivor can spend as much time as they need in the virtual environment. 

The familiarisation in VR could be extended to include the whole trip to The Hague, with survivors being given a virtual introduction to the city. 

VR for survivor and witness mental health 

VR has been shown to work as a way to deliver mental health therapies, so the court could use VR to support survivors’ and witnesses’ mental health. VR could be used for trauma therapy in conjunction with a therapist, and could also be used to lower stress while at the court. Witnesses are often in a waiting room for long periods before testifying. During this time, VR could take them to a relaxing virtual world where interactions, audio and visuals are designed to help people stay calm. 

Court VR social platform 

VR can be a social experience where people can meet and talk together. The court could create their own social VR platform used for outreach and support. The ICC could run events on the platform that explain their work to people around the world, who can ask questions and have real time interactions with the ICC. It could be a space where people can view the trial together, with the ICC answering any questions. It could be a mediated space for survivors to meet and talk together, and could be survivors from the same or different conflicts. It could be a private space where witnesses at the court could talk to family members back home. Social VR has the potential to bring people together to support and inform before, during and after the trial proceedings. 

VR for outreach and external education 

VR could be used for outreach and education, showing people the work that the ICC does, the countries it works with, and the court’s processes. This could be used for outreach in different communities in the conflict country to show what the ICC can do. It could also be used within the ICC’s visitor area to provide context of certain communities. 

Interactive courtroom proceedings 

People in the countries affected by the conflict may not be able to travel to The Hague to see the hearings in person. While there is currently live access to the hearings on video streaming platforms the use of AR or VR could make the hearings more interactive and increase outreach to the affected communities. 

The hearings could be filmed in 360-degrees and viewed in a VR headset, which could help people feel move involved. AR could display information and make the proceedings interactive. An AR avatar from the court would allow for live interactions between the court and the audience, which could facilitate discussion between the online community. 

VR for staff training 

VR could be used for staff training at the court to give staff a better understanding of the needs of the survivors of conflict related sexual violence. VR has been used for sensitivity, inclusion and diversity training in the health sector and introducing it at the ICC could help survivors feel more supported in the process. 

VR Crime scene reconstructions 

Some of the crime scenes from the conflict could be reconstructed in VR. This idea is similar to a VR representation of the conflict environment, but would be more detailed. This is not a VR reconstruction of the crime itself, but a detail reconstruction of the scene, which could help people understand the timeline of specific events. 

What’s next 

We are looking to close our first sprint of work by presenting our early research at the 2nd Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI) conference in London on 28-29th November 2022, where we will also hold a feedback meeting with a wide range of stakeholders. 

As a fantastic signal of the potential for this work, we have been able to secure a partnership with the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) of the ICC, following our meetings at headquarters. 

We can’t wait to get started with the OTP and eventually develop a prototype to test how one solution might work in practice, while continuing to engage with other parts of the organisation and other stakeholders. 

We’d love to hear what you think: which use case would be most impactful for a survivor-focused approach to CRSV accountability? Is there anything you think we’ve missed? And finally, is there anything you would like to collaborate with us on? 

Please get in touch by emailing david@hellobrink.co 

Read more about Jaye and her inspiration for the pilot here.