Displaced African Female Survivors of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence

Akinsulure‐Smith, Adeyinka M.

doi:10.1177/1077801214540537

Cited by 17 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Rape and sexual assault have consistently emerged as salient risk factors for PTSD in the context of a torture history (Keller et al, 2006; Hooberman et al, 2007; Van Velsen, Gorst-Unsworth & Turner, 1996). Sexual assault is commonly used as a method of torture (Akinsulure-Smith, 2011) and is therefore highly relevant to the examination of risk factors predicting suicidal ideation in torture survivors.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Predictors of suicidal ideation in treatment-seeking survivors of torture.

Lerner

Bonanno

Keatley

et al. 2016

Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy

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In this study, we examined sociodemographic, persecutor identity, torture, and postmigration variables associated with suicidal ideation in a clinical sample of 267 immigrant survivors of torture who have resettled in New York City. The purpose of this study was to identify variables associated with increased risk for suicidal ideation in survivors of torture before they receive legal, psychological, or medical services for torture-related needs. Results from a binary logistic regression model identified a combination of 3 variables associated with current suicidal ideation at intake into the program. Being female, having not submitted an application for asylum, and a history of rape or sexual assault were significantly associated with suicidal ideation at intake, when also controlling for several other important variables. The final model explained 21.4% of variation in reported suicidal ideation at intake. The discussion will focus on the importance of conducting a thorough assessment of suicidal ideation in refugees and survivors of torture.

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

Predictors of suicidal ideation in treatment-seeking survivors of torture.

Lerner

Bonanno

Keatley

et al. 2016

Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy

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“…From a postcolonial feminist perspective, survivors of sexualized violence need to be primarily located in a broader and diverse group population of African female transnationals who have been historically "gendered" and racialized prior to their migration (Afonja, 1990;Robinson, 1986). There are examples of support programs in the United States (Akinsulure-Smith, 2014;Falicov, 2007) and in Canada (Hagen & Yohani, 2010) that point the way to more culturally effective interventions that involve affected communities in conversations beyond those that are provided specifically for survivors. In our current research project on gender relations within African immigrant families in Alberta, Canada, we have also made a point of actively involving community partners, both as cultural knowers as well as critical agents of change whose insights could significantly transform approaches to addressing sexualized trauma in a transnational context.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Support Programs for Women Survivors of Sexualized Gender-Based Violence From African Conflict Zones: A Contextual Review

2018

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Gender-based violence (GBV) against women is broadly defined as any act of violence directed at women because they are women. It refers to "any act that results in, or is likely to result in physical, sexual, or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life" (United Nations, 1993). Sexualized GBV occurs when both symbolic gestures and concrete acts of violence are deployed to humiliate or degrade its targets, which may be of any gender (Burnet, 2014; Ola, 2013; Russo & Pirlott, 2006). The impact of GBV cannot be overstated, particularly, in the case of survivors with severe sexual trauma. However, it is equally important to ensure that the intervention put in place meet their intended goals. The dearth of literature on African refugees and immigrants to Western industrialized countries, particularly, their more recent destinations such as Canada, is a major impediment to developing culturally effective responses to the needs of female survivors of sexualized violence. Newcomers to Canada from sub-Saharan Africa constitute one of Canada's fastest growing populations. Yet, not much is documented about their experiences of transition and integration into their new homeland. To contextualize this review of existing knowledge, we also drew from our recent systematic review of literature on this population (Okeke-Ihejirika, Salami, & Karimi, 2016) as well as our exploratory study on African women survivors from the conflict (Yohani & Okeke-Ihejirika, 2018). The qualitative accounts of female survivors, in particular, cast a new light on conventional understandings of survivors' responses in postmigration contexts, raising fundamental questions about voice, power, and responsibility in understanding the relationship between women survivors and Western-based support programs. This contextual review is in many respects informed by our qualitative case study of six employees of immigrant serving agencies in Edmonton, Canada who work with women survivors of sexual violence from African conflict zones (Yohani & Okeke-Ihejirika, 2018). Our analysis 784342S GOXXX10.

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“…There is extensive research on the issue of CRSV (see, for example, Baaz & Stern, 2009 ; Kirby, 2013 ; Nordås & Cohen, 2021 ; Revkin & Wood, 2021 ; Schulz & Touquet, 2020 ). This scholarship has emphasized, inter alia, the myriad ways that such violence directly affects the lives of victims−/survivors, including physically and psychologically/emotionally (Akinsulure‐Smith, 2014 ; Dossa et al, 2014 ; Liebling‐Kalifani et al, 2011 ; Zalesne, 2020 ). In contrast, much less attention has been given to how victims−/survivors deal with their experiences and find ways to move forward with their lives (see, however, Coulter, 2009 ; Laxminarayan & Durr, 2019 ; Oliveira & Baines, 2021 ; Schulz & Ngomokwe, 2021 ).…”

Section: The Wider Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Resilience in the context ofconflict‐relatedsexual violence and beyond: A “sentient ecology” framework

Clark

2022

British Journal of Sociology

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In his research with Indigenous Evenki people living in Arctic Siberia, Anderson introduces the concept of “sentient ecology”, defined as “the mutual interrelation of person and place”. This interdisciplinary article starts from the basic premise that sentient ecology is relevant for research on resilience, and it aims to demonstrate this in two key ways. First, it uses sentient ecology as a novel framework for thinking about resilience, with a particular focus on conflict‐related sexual violence (CSRV)—an area of scholarship that to date has given very little attention to the concept of resilience. The article locates resilience in the fluid and dynamic interactions between individuals and their social ecologies. What sentient ecology contributes in this regard is a different way of thinking about these interactions. In particular, it highlights some of the ways that female and male victims–/survivors of CRSV actively utilize and engage with the more‐than‐human living world around them in the process of rebuilding and moving on with their lives. Second, the article uses sentient ecology as a framework for thinking in new “sentient” ways about social‐ecological systems (SES)—and how the social and ecological parts of these systems communicate with each other. Taking this a step further, it argues that sentient ecology offers a potential basis for developing more posthumanist accounts of resilience as an extension of SES.

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Displaced African Female Survivors of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence

Cited by 17 publications

References 29 publications

Predictors of suicidal ideation in treatment-seeking survivors of torture.

Predictors of suicidal ideation in treatment-seeking survivors of torture.

Support Programs for Women Survivors of Sexualized Gender-Based Violence From African Conflict Zones: A Contextual Review

Resilience in the context ofconflict‐relatedsexual violence and beyond: A “sentient ecology” framework

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