Bristol University Press
3 Between Victimization and Agency: Gendered Victim–Perpetrator Dichotomies
Abstract
This chapter engages with the politics of victimhood, providing a gendered analysis. It describes the rigid binaries between victims and perpetrators in transitional justice, and how this actually plays out in communities that were affected by conflict. The chapter uncovers how victim hierarchies are performed in different ways and with diverse goals by both victims and perpetrators. The emphasis on sexual violence during the conflict in Colombia risks excluding other gendered narratives of conflict, especially those of agency. The recognition of these experiences of agency could in fact be an important tool for transforming gender inequality through building active citizenship. Drawing on insights from social identity theory, the chapter suggests how citizenship as an overarching identity could replace victim and perpetrator identities which hamper genuine transformation and reconciliation.
Abstract
This chapter engages with the politics of victimhood, providing a gendered analysis. It describes the rigid binaries between victims and perpetrators in transitional justice, and how this actually plays out in communities that were affected by conflict. The chapter uncovers how victim hierarchies are performed in different ways and with diverse goals by both victims and perpetrators. The emphasis on sexual violence during the conflict in Colombia risks excluding other gendered narratives of conflict, especially those of agency. The recognition of these experiences of agency could in fact be an important tool for transforming gender inequality through building active citizenship. Drawing on insights from social identity theory, the chapter suggests how citizenship as an overarching identity could replace victim and perpetrator identities which hamper genuine transformation and reconciliation.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- List of Figures and Table vi
- List of Abbreviations vii
- Notes on the Author viii
- Acknowledgements ix
- Introduction: Reparation, Reintegration and Transformation 1
- Gender, Violence and Reconciliation in Colombia 17
- Tales of Machismo and Motherhood: Gendered Changes across War and Peace 49
- Between Victimization and Agency: Gendered Victim–Perpetrator Dichotomies 77
- Gendering Reconciliation? The ‘Differential Perspective’ of Reparation and Reintegration 100
- Gradations of Citizenship: Of Radical Agrarian Citizens and Transitional Justice Bureaucracies 129
- Overcoming Obstacles to Citizenship: Imagining Post-Conflict Gender Equality 146
- Conclusion: From Victimhood to Citizenship 165
- Checklist for Ethics in Research on Gender and Conflict 179
- References 201
- Index 232
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- List of Figures and Table vi
- List of Abbreviations vii
- Notes on the Author viii
- Acknowledgements ix
- Introduction: Reparation, Reintegration and Transformation 1
- Gender, Violence and Reconciliation in Colombia 17
- Tales of Machismo and Motherhood: Gendered Changes across War and Peace 49
- Between Victimization and Agency: Gendered Victim–Perpetrator Dichotomies 77
- Gendering Reconciliation? The ‘Differential Perspective’ of Reparation and Reintegration 100
- Gradations of Citizenship: Of Radical Agrarian Citizens and Transitional Justice Bureaucracies 129
- Overcoming Obstacles to Citizenship: Imagining Post-Conflict Gender Equality 146
- Conclusion: From Victimhood to Citizenship 165
- Checklist for Ethics in Research on Gender and Conflict 179
- References 201
- Index 232
