Complementarity holds that international organizations (IOs) step in only when domestic institutions fail. Supporters of IOs such as the International Criminal Court (ICC) frequently invoke complementarity to justify international action and to pressure domestic authorities. The central question asks whether appeals to complementarity increase public support for ICC investigations or for domestic investigations.
This article tests whether the International Criminal Court (ICC) and related prosecutorial actions prevent conflict-related sexual violence by government forces in intrastate armed conflicts. Using the Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict (SVAC) dataset to analyze cases from 1989–2018, the authors compare outcomes across settings with ICC jurisdiction, ICC interventions, and cross-case ICC actions to assess whether prosecutions operate as a preventive strategy. The central contribution is an empirical test of claims that ICC activity reduces sexual violence, reporting qualified null and counterintuitive associations rather than clear deterrent effects.