Sexual Violence in Conflict and Post-Conflict Societies (Routledge African Studies)

This book brings together a unique blend of researchers, civil society and community activists all working on different aspects of conflict sexual violence on the African continent. The contributions included here offer a detailed reading of the social and political climate within which some patterns of sexual violence unfold, and the increased policy and institutional responses shaping post-conflict environments. The chapters are organized around three main themes: the continuities between conflict sexual violence and post-conflict insecurity; the troubling category of "victim" and its representation in post-conflict settings; and the international contexts – such as international programming, aid and justice interventions – that shape how conflict sexual violence is addressed. The authors come to the topic from various academic disciplines - anthropology, gender studies, law, and psychology - and from different non-academic contexts, including civil society organizations in affected regions, and policy and activist organizations in the Global North. Collectively the chapters in this volume offer complex and detailed analysis of some of the debates and dynamics shaping contemporary understandings of conflict sexual violence, highlighting, in turn, new insights and emerging topics on which further research and advocacy is needed.

Doris Buss is an associate professor in the Department of Law and Legal Studies at Carleton University.

Joanne Lebert is the Director of the Great Lakes Programme for Partnership Africa Canada.

Blair Rutherford is Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Institute of African Studies at Carleton University in Ottawa.

Donna Sharkey’s research examines the effects of education on girls and young women in conflict and post-conflict societies and explores coping mechanisms and resilience enhancing strategies among girls and women in these settings.

Obijiofor Aginam is Senior Research Fellow and Head of Governance for Global Health program in the United Nations University-International Institute for Global Health (UNU-IIGH), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and concurrently Adjunct Research Professor of Law at Carleton University, Ottawa, and Visiting Professor at the University of Tokyo.