Relationality, Culpability and Consent in Wartime: Men’s Experiences of Forced Marriage

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

“…In part, this is due to the separation of victim and perpetrators within the field and Western constructions of innocence and victimhood, creating hierarchies of more- and less-deserving survivors (McEvoy and McConnachie, 2013). The emphasis in achieving justice for the more-deserving victim, or in this case, the more-identifiable one, becomes actionable through the prosecution of the fathers to children ‘born of war’ as perpetrators of sexual violence against the mothers, even though the fathers too may be complex victims – forced into such acts, or, in the case of northern Uganda, abducted at a young age and forced into marriages in settings of coercion (Aijazi and Baines, 2017). Without wishing to dismiss the need for retributive justice for survivors of sexual violence, it is important to consider how the child ‘born of war’ is impacted by a prosecutorial process after which their ties to the father and his family may be completely severed.…”

“They Now Know That They Are Children of War”: Forcibly Abducted Mothers and Fathers Balancing Disclosure and Silencing to Their Children Born of War in Northern Uganda

“…In this paper, we define forced marriages as the "forced imposition of the status of marriage" (Carlson and Mazurana, 2008, p. 15), that is, without consent of the persons involved and their families. Simultaneously drawing on and transgressing Acholi conjugal practices (Porter, 2015;Apio, 2016;Aijazi and Baines, 2017;Baines, 2017;Madhani and Baines, 2020), forced marriage became one of the LRA's defining and critical features (Watye Ki Gen et al, 2013;Apio, 2016). Annan et al (2009) estimated that about one out of four abducted females became forced wives in LRA captivity.…”

“…Orchestrated by the top leadership of the LRA (Carlson and Mazurana, 2008;Aijazi et al, 2019;Denov and Drumbl, 2020), the practice of forced marriage served several purposes: (1) it was part and parcel of the LRA's "political project of nationbuilding" (Baines, 2014, p. 407), "a way of reproducing-literally giving birth to-the nation" of "morally pure" Acholi (ibid, p. 406); (2) forced marriages were meant to create dependencies between abducted children/youth and the LRA, and amongst abducted children/youth themselves (Kramer, 2012;Aijazi and Baines, 2017); and (3) it was implemented as a system of renumeration and privilege, a "surrogate payment system in the absence of distributable material goods" (Kramer, 2012, p. 28). Notwithstanding noted exceptions (Aijazi et al, 2019), sexual relations were only permitted within the construct of forced marriage (Annan et al, 2009;Baines, 2014).…”

Children born of wartime rape on fatherhood: Grappling with violence, accountability, and forgiveness in postwar northern Uganda.

“…Through forced marriage, girls were systematically and strategically captured to then be “given” to commander “husbands” (Denov & Lakor, 2017, 2018). The “wives” became the exclusive property of the commanders: These girls were required to obey any and every command and to never refuse the sexual services of their “husbands.” High-ranking members of the LRA would generally determine when men and women/girls were ready to be “married” (Aijazi & Baines, 2017). Although research has shown that most women and girls had little choice in the matter (Denov, Green, Lakor, & Arach, 2018), men’s experiences with the “marriage” process appear more varied (Denov, Cadieux Van Vliet, Lakor, & Arach, 2019).…”

“…Although research has shown that most women and girls had little choice in the matter (Denov, Green, Lakor, & Arach, 2018), men's experiences with the "marriage" process appear more varied (Denov, Cadieux Van Vliet, Lakor, & Arach, 2019). For example, although research has documented how men perpetrated brutal acts of violence, including forced marriage and sexual assault, some men were also forced to accept the wives assigned to them (Aijazi & Baines, 2017).…”