Moral Spaces and Sexual Transgression: Understanding Rape in War and Post Conflict

Porter, Holly

doi:10.1111/dech.12499

Cited by 12 publications

(13 citation statements)

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“…Importantly, reconnecting with their forced "husband" or "wife" was framed within customary Acholi practices on marriage and childbirth. Certain payments, such as luk, to amend transgressions and align the lineage of the child with the paternal clan have to be paid to the mother's family (Porter, 2015(Porter, , 2019Madhani and Baines, 2020):…”

Section: Lack Of Resources and Supportmentioning

confidence: 99%

“They Now Know That They Are Children of War”: Forcibly Abducted Mothers and Fathers Balancing Disclosure and Silencing to Their Children Born of War in Northern Uganda

Nutte¹,

Haene²,

Derluyn³

2022

Front. Polit. Sci.

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In recent years, scholars have emphasized the need for a relational understanding of the impact of collective violence pointing to the myriad interconnections between individual and communal experiences and consequences. These interconnections are particularly strong in the (re)integration of formerly abducted children and youth, and their children born of war, since various social, relational and cultural processes play a key role in their wellbeing and healing. One example is the way in which trauma communication is shaped by culture and context, and intersects at the level of the individual and the collective. In this paper, we will explore how forcibly abducted mothers and fathers in post-conflict Northern Uganda perceive the trauma communication about the context in which their children born in forced captivity were conceived. Case study research was used to understand the dynamic trajectories of this trauma communication, placing parents' experiences within broader life histories, and the social and relational context. Repeated interviews were performed with six mothers and four fathers who became parents in forced captivity with the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). Central in the participants' stories is their agency in the careful, individual choice “to be silent” or “not to be silent” toward their children, family and community members. However, these choices are shaped—and often restricted—by the relational and cultural context. A dynamic interplay of several factors, such as the age of the child, the emotional impact of disclosure, a lack of resources and support in the upbringing of children, identity and belonging, and perceived or potential future stigmatization are explored in this paper. Trauma communication can be seen as a socially negotiated choice, interacting in a complex dialectic relationship between silencing, disclosing, forgetting and remembering. As such, the study revealed important insights into post-conflict healing and reintegration in the day-to-day lives of formerly abducted children and youth, and their children born of war, on an individual and collective level.

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Section: Lack Of Resources and Supportmentioning

confidence: 99%

“They Now Know That They Are Children of War”: Forcibly Abducted Mothers and Fathers Balancing Disclosure and Silencing to Their Children Born of War in Northern Uganda

Nutte¹,

Haene²,

Derluyn³

2022

Front. Polit. Sci.

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“…Some studies utilise the the perspective of moral geography to explore this bush versus home binary in Acholi society (see, for example, Oloya, 2013; Dubal, 2018; Porter, 2019). Macdonald and Kerali (2020, pp.…”

Section: Stigma and Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The LRA/new Acholi practised their version of social harmony, just like home, upheld by a spiritual body via Kony (Behrend, 1999; Van Acker, 2004). While their settlements in South Sudan and social life mirrored old Acholi, the rebellion developed its own moral codes by which every member lived (Titeca, 2010; Baines, 2017; Porter, 2019; Kiconco, 2021). The interviews revealed that upon arrival at the LRA settlements, newly abducted persons were subjected to rituals with a view to cleansing them of any potential polluting spirits and witchcraft from old and inferior Acholi state (Kiconco, 2021).…”

Section: Stigma and Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The interviews revealed that upon arrival at the LRA settlements, newly abducted persons were subjected to rituals with a view to cleansing them of any potential polluting spirits and witchcraft from old and inferior Acholi state (Kiconco, 2021). Transgressors of LRA/new Acholi social harmony were punished, sometimes by death (Titeca, 2010; Baines, 2017; Porter, 2019).…”

Section: Stigma and Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Wartime captivity and homecoming: culture, stigma, and coping strategies of formerly abducted women in post‐conflict northern Uganda

Kiconco

Nthakomwa

2022

Disasters

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One of the three durable solutions to mass displacement preferred by leading agencies is that survivors return to their home communities. It is believed that families and communities provide the best hope for recovery and reintegration owing to familiarity, care, and shared culture. Yet, these 'places of hope and comfort' can also be, potentially, a hostile environment in which stigma can flourish. Women who were abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army in northern Uganda find that achieving meaningful reintegration into their communities is a distant prospect despite being the home culture they once shared. The stigmatisation of formerly abducted persons by home community members who have never been abducted renders them 'outsiders' upon return. Meaningful relationships with fellow community members and access to cultural, social, and economic systems are hampered by the women's traumatic past. This experience has significant implications for these women, negotiating their journey to recovery and reintegration into home communities.

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“…However, this view of the central role of conflict in sexual violence in the DRC has come under increasing scrutiny. It has been argued that this focus on the relationship between sexual violence and conflict has been counter-productive, as it has distracted attention from other pressing problems the DRC faces Hilhorst and Douma, 2018;Porter, 2019). Moreover, it risks missing the civilian perpetrators of SGBV.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Risks and opportunities to development in Africa : A local perspective

Leuveld¹

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Chapter 1 50,000 people lost their lives, and even more were victimized by widespread human rights violations, from mass rape to mutiliations, perpetrated by all sides of the conflict (Human Rights Watch, 1999). Youth played an important role in the conflict, both in the grievances that caused the conflict (see e.g. Peters and Richards, 1998; Richards, 2005;Peters, 2011), as well as in the actual fighting during the conflict (Humphreys et al., 2013). After the war, youths in the country were still left with little chance due the economic fall out of the conflict. Agriculture, the largest sector in the country was hard-hit, leading to a high depedence on imported foodstuffs (FAO, 2005).Chapter 2 draws on a study done with youths who participated in a football tournament in Kenema, Eastern Sierra Leone. The study focuses on the impact that their experiences during the conflict have had on their behaviour, and discusses potential implications of this for their future economic success.Like Sierra Leone, the DRC has experienced violent conflict in its recent history. While the Second Congo was ended by a peace agreement in 2003, there are still armed groups active in the country, particularly in the east. After years of conflict, daily life for many in the DRC is miserable. The country lags behind in terms of human development, ranking 175 on the Human Development Index (UNDP, 2020). The enduring conflicts have also depressed agricultural production, by limiting rural households' access to financial assets, land and markets (Lecoutere et al., 2005; Vlassenroot and Raeymaekers, 2008).In 2020, it was estimated that over 20 million people were facing acute food insecurity in the country (FAO, 2020). Life for women in the DRC is particularly bad, facing high rates of sexual and genderbased violonce (SGBV), particularly from intimate partners; Peterman et al. (2011) estimate that 22.8% of Congolese women have been victim of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), and speculate that that may be an underestimate. Chapters 3 and 5 draw on work done in South Kivu, one of the poorest provinces of the DRC (Ansoms and Marivoet, 2009). Chapter 3 evaluates the outcomes of a project aimed at increasing agricultural production through the provision of subsidized agricultural inputs. Chapter 5 focuses on the drivers of SGBV. The chapter explores the characteristics of women who have been recently victimized by SGBV.Chapter 4 is set in the Adamawa region in Northern Cameroon. The Adamawa region is mostly rural, with low population densities. The predominant source of income is agriculture. The most important challenge to development for the region is its remoteness. Most households in our study sample live in small villages, which means that they lack access to markets and the opportunities to development they entail. The chapter is based on the results of an Investment Game, a behavioural game commonly used to measure expectations about other people's behaviour, an important component of trust and thus of social capital. The paper focuses ...

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Moral Spaces and Sexual Transgression: Understanding Rape in War and Post Conflict

Cited by 12 publications

References 48 publications

“They Now Know That They Are Children of War”: Forcibly Abducted Mothers and Fathers Balancing Disclosure and Silencing to Their Children Born of War in Northern Uganda

“They Now Know That They Are Children of War”: Forcibly Abducted Mothers and Fathers Balancing Disclosure and Silencing to Their Children Born of War in Northern Uganda

Wartime captivity and homecoming: culture, stigma, and coping strategies of formerly abducted women in post‐conflict northern Uganda

Risks and opportunities to development in Africa : A local perspective

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