Examining Male Wartime Rape Survivors’ Perspectives on Justice in Northern Uganda

Abstract

This article examines how male survivors of wartime sexual violence in Northern Uganda conceptualize justice. Whereas recent years have witnessed increasing consideration for redressing conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence against women, specific attention to justice for male-directed sexual violence remains absent. Drawing on the empirically-grounded perspectives of 46 male survivors, this article incorporates the seldom-heard voices and perspectives of male wartime rape survivors into debates about justice in the context of sexual violence, thereby contributing towards a gender-inclusive and holistic understanding of gender justice debates. The findings underpinning this article demonstrate that male survivors’ justice priorities primarily centre around three interrelated themes: (a) justice as recognition, (b) government acknowledgement and (c) reparative justice. According to male survivors, these three aspects of justice imply the potential to respond to the misrecognition of male survivors’ experiences and to remedy their sexual and gendered harms in a reparative and gender-sensitive capacity.

Securing the Future: Transformative Justice and Children ‘Born of War’

“…A social worker was present throughout the project and followed up with participants regularly. However, outside of these institutional expectations for conducting ethical research, our approach, one that centres survivors as agents and knowledge holders, works towards an ethical praxis of research (Schulz, 2020). Where the nuances of life after the war often elude the grasp of pre-defined research agenda, situated knowledge reveals new insights and questions, and locates agency within the intricate, intersecting social forces that otherwise limit life opportunities (Maynes et al, 2012).…”

Event centrality and conflict-related sexual violence: A new application of the Centrality of Event Scale (CES)

“…However, of the total 449 study participants, only 27 were male. This small number attests to the immense challenges of locating and gaining access to male victims-/survivors, which is linked to what Schulz (2020) has referred to as the ‘ubiquitous global inattentiveness of post-conflict processes to male sexual harms’ (p. 24).…”

Translating survivor-centredness into pedagogical approaches to training on sexual violence in conflict and emergency settings: A case study

“…62 From a more academic perspective, Schulz proposes a multi-dimensional and gender-sensitive concept of justice centred on recognition, reparation and acknowledgement by the government. 63 The 2019 Wilton Park Conference highlighted that survivor involvement must go beyond consultations with individual survivors to include financial support for survivors and survivor networks.…”