The verdict was a tremendous and unexpected triumph for the Chadian women sitting in court, for thousands of their fellow Chadians who suffered atrocities under the Habré regime, and for the Chadian victims’ rights groups and international groups such as Human Rights Watch that worked for decades to bring this case to trial. 

The verdict was also a reminder that widespread, systematic, or otherwise strategic acts of sexual violence, which are often committed during armed conflict, must be considered at the beginning of any inquiry into war crimes or crimes against humanity. Awareness of possible sexual violence from the outset makes it more likely that investigators will ask the right questions and provide the right psychological support as early on as possible. This could then encourage more survivors of sexual violence to come forward, not only to testify but to receive due reparations in the case of a conviction.

Habré’s case shows that the road to justice is long. It may take 30 years or more before some survivors of sexual violence are willing to speak at all, much less testify against the powerful—but advocates, investigators, lawyers, and judges must help carve out a safe space for them to do so from the very beginning.