Women's civil society mobilization in response to sexual violence in armed conflict

What is it about?

Victims of sexual violence in conflict, and women in situations of armed conflict generally, are often seen as traumatized, passive and in dire need of outside intervention. This article draws attention to local women's activism and to how women living in conflict settings collectively confront sexual violence perpetrated by armed actors. Women's civil society activism, this article shows, is higher in conflicts with prevalent sexual violence than in conflicts in which sexual violence is not widespread. This suggests that women - in many conflicts in the world - mobilize actively in response to violence that commonly targets them because of their gender, as women. Interviews carried out in Colombia show these patterns of women's mobilization and how women link sexual violence to gender inequality and discrimination against women more broadly.

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Why is it important?

This article challenges predominant views of women as passive victims in the face of conflict-related sexual violence. Victimization does not imply passivity at all, this article shows, but victims and intended victims of sexual violence may in fact exert agency in actively confronting this violence.