Khristopher Carlson | Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID), Geneva (original) (raw)
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On behalf of: Peace Science Society (International) can be found at:Journal of Conflict Resolutio... more On behalf of: Peace Science Society (International) can be found at:Journal of Conflict ResolutionAdditional services and information for
What are the impacts of war on the participants, and do they vary by gender? Are ex-combatants da... more What are the impacts of war on the participants, and do they vary by gender? Are ex-combatants damaged pariahs who threaten social stability, as some fear? Existing theory and evidence are both inconclusive and focused onmales. New data and a tragic natural quasi-experiment in Uganda allow us to estimate the impacts of war on both genders, and assess how war experiences affect reintegration success. As expected, violence drives social and psychological problems, especially among females. Unexpect-edly, however, most women returning from armed groups reintegrate socially and are resilient. Partly for this reason, postconflict hostility is low.Theories thatwar conditions youth into violence find little support. Finally, the findings confirm a human capital view of recruitment: economic gaps aredriven by timeaway fromcivilian education and labor markets. Unlikemales, however, females have few civilian opportunities and so they see little adverse economic impact of recruitment.
www.sway-uganda.org APRIL 2008SWAY is a research program in northern Uganda dedicated to understa... more www.sway-uganda.org APRIL 2008SWAY is a research program in northern Uganda dedicated to understanding the scale and nature of war violence, the effects of war on youth, and the evaluation of programs to recover, reintegrate, and develop after conflict. SWAY’s partners include: AVSI supports human development in developing countries according to the Social Teaching of the Catholic Church, with special attention to education and promotion of the global dignity of every person. The Feinstein International Center strives to improve the lives and livelihoods of communities caught up in complex emergencies, war, and other crises. Established in 1996 as part of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, the Center carries out field-based research in complex emergency environments. IDRC is a Canadian Crown corporation that works in close collaboration with researchers from the developing world in their search for the means to build healthier, more equitable, a...
Cover photograph, "Former forced wife with child, northern Uganda" by Khristopher Carlson. Fair u... more Cover photograph, "Former forced wife with child, northern Uganda" by Khristopher Carlson. Fair use of Feinstein International Center publications includes their use for non-commercial educational purposes, such as teaching, scholarship, research, criticism, commentary, and news reporting. Unless otherwise noted, those who wish to reproduce text from this publication for such uses may do so without the Feinstein International Center's express permission. However, all commercial use of this material and/or reproduction that alters its meaning or intent, without the express permission of the Feinstein International Center, is prohibited. II. Introduction and Study Overview This paper focuses on the experiences of those women and girls forcibly married within the LRA and their attempts to reintegrate in civilian life after captivity. It documents and describes how females were often beaten, raped, impregnated, and forced to assume the role of 'wife' to the fi ghters or commanders to whom they were given. As this paper documents, the responsibility for the crimes committed against these females clearly lies with the top LRA leadership which played the central role in orchestrating the systematic and widespread abduction of females for the purpose of forced marriages. As evidence within this paper demonstrates, none of these forced marriages are recognized or binding as formal marriages by any legal standard in Uganda or within northern Ugandan customary law. To the contrary, both Ugandan and international law criminalize elements that comprise forced marriage. Forced marriages, for example, include international crimes of rape, sexual slavery, enforced pregnancy, enslavement and torture, and in nearly all cases, forced labor. 1 More recently, it has been argued by prosecutors within the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) that the coercive nature and imposition of the status of marriage serves as the means from which these individual crimes can be perpetrated, making the act of forced marriage more than the sum of its parts. 2 The effects forced marriages have on a female, both physically and psychologically, as well as how she is treated by her family and community upon return, infl uence her choices and ability to fully realize her rights as a citizen. Following this introduction, Section II begins with the study overview. In order to contextualize the discussion of forced marriage with the LRA, we provide a brief introduction and overview of the Acholi and Langi 3 people, the ethnic groups most heavily affected by the 21-year war in northern Uganda and which are the subject of this report. We then offer a brief overview of the confl ict itself and its effects on the civilian population. In Section III we detail the practice of forced marriage within the LRA, including the crimes and the harms faced by young women and girls. We document and discuss a clear pattern of command responsibility within the LRA for this crime. We discuss some of the main challenges that the women and girls and their children face upon leaving the LRA and returning to 1 See the Rome Statute on the International Criminal Court (1998).
Unsettling Sexual Hierarchies while Redressing Human Rights Violations
Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, 2002
... For example, child soldiers reportedly comprise nearly 80% of the Lords Resistance Army (LRA)... more ... For example, child soldiers reportedly comprise nearly 80% of the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) in Uganda. The LRA is active in fighting both the government forces of Uganda within the Ugandan borders, as GIRLS IN FIGHTING FORCES AND GROUPS 103 ...
The Survey for War Affected Youth (SWAY) is a research program dedicated to evidence-based humani... more The Survey for War Affected Youth (SWAY) is a research program dedicated to evidence-based humanitarian aid and development. SWAY employs new data tools and analysis to improve the design and targeting of protection assistance and reintegration programs for youth in northern Uganda. Youth have been both the primary victims and the primary actors in the protracted war between the Government of Uganda (GoU) and the Lords Resistance Army (LRA). It is not clear however exactly who is suffering how much and in what ways. We also have little sense of the magnitude incidence and nature of the violence trauma and suffering of youth in northern Uganda. Our understanding of the effects of war on women and girls is especially lacking whether they abducted or impacted in other ways. Government and NGO officials admit that they have little sense of the true scale of the problems facing young women and the proportion of females facing particular vulnerabilities. As a result programming is based o...
The Feinstein International Center at Tufts University develops and promotes operational and poli... more The Feinstein International Center at Tufts University develops and promotes operational and policy responses to protect and strengthen the lives and livelihoods of people living in crisis-affected and marginalized communities. The Center works globally in partnership with national and international organizations to bring about institutional changes that enhance effective policy reform and promote best practice. This report is available on-line at fic.tufts.edu
On behalf of: Peace Science Society (International) can be found at:Journal of Conflict Resolutio... more On behalf of: Peace Science Society (International) can be found at:Journal of Conflict ResolutionAdditional services and information for
What are the impacts of war on the participants, and do they vary by gender? Are ex-combatants da... more What are the impacts of war on the participants, and do they vary by gender? Are ex-combatants damaged pariahs who threaten social stability, as some fear? Existing theory and evidence are both inconclusive and focused onmales. New data and a tragic natural quasi-experiment in Uganda allow us to estimate the impacts of war on both genders, and assess how war experiences affect reintegration success. As expected, violence drives social and psychological problems, especially among females. Unexpect-edly, however, most women returning from armed groups reintegrate socially and are resilient. Partly for this reason, postconflict hostility is low.Theories thatwar conditions youth into violence find little support. Finally, the findings confirm a human capital view of recruitment: economic gaps aredriven by timeaway fromcivilian education and labor markets. Unlikemales, however, females have few civilian opportunities and so they see little adverse economic impact of recruitment.
www.sway-uganda.org APRIL 2008SWAY is a research program in northern Uganda dedicated to understa... more www.sway-uganda.org APRIL 2008SWAY is a research program in northern Uganda dedicated to understanding the scale and nature of war violence, the effects of war on youth, and the evaluation of programs to recover, reintegrate, and develop after conflict. SWAY’s partners include: AVSI supports human development in developing countries according to the Social Teaching of the Catholic Church, with special attention to education and promotion of the global dignity of every person. The Feinstein International Center strives to improve the lives and livelihoods of communities caught up in complex emergencies, war, and other crises. Established in 1996 as part of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, the Center carries out field-based research in complex emergency environments. IDRC is a Canadian Crown corporation that works in close collaboration with researchers from the developing world in their search for the means to build healthier, more equitable, a...
Cover photograph, "Former forced wife with child, northern Uganda" by Khristopher Carlson. Fair u... more Cover photograph, "Former forced wife with child, northern Uganda" by Khristopher Carlson. Fair use of Feinstein International Center publications includes their use for non-commercial educational purposes, such as teaching, scholarship, research, criticism, commentary, and news reporting. Unless otherwise noted, those who wish to reproduce text from this publication for such uses may do so without the Feinstein International Center's express permission. However, all commercial use of this material and/or reproduction that alters its meaning or intent, without the express permission of the Feinstein International Center, is prohibited. II. Introduction and Study Overview This paper focuses on the experiences of those women and girls forcibly married within the LRA and their attempts to reintegrate in civilian life after captivity. It documents and describes how females were often beaten, raped, impregnated, and forced to assume the role of 'wife' to the fi ghters or commanders to whom they were given. As this paper documents, the responsibility for the crimes committed against these females clearly lies with the top LRA leadership which played the central role in orchestrating the systematic and widespread abduction of females for the purpose of forced marriages. As evidence within this paper demonstrates, none of these forced marriages are recognized or binding as formal marriages by any legal standard in Uganda or within northern Ugandan customary law. To the contrary, both Ugandan and international law criminalize elements that comprise forced marriage. Forced marriages, for example, include international crimes of rape, sexual slavery, enforced pregnancy, enslavement and torture, and in nearly all cases, forced labor. 1 More recently, it has been argued by prosecutors within the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) that the coercive nature and imposition of the status of marriage serves as the means from which these individual crimes can be perpetrated, making the act of forced marriage more than the sum of its parts. 2 The effects forced marriages have on a female, both physically and psychologically, as well as how she is treated by her family and community upon return, infl uence her choices and ability to fully realize her rights as a citizen. Following this introduction, Section II begins with the study overview. In order to contextualize the discussion of forced marriage with the LRA, we provide a brief introduction and overview of the Acholi and Langi 3 people, the ethnic groups most heavily affected by the 21-year war in northern Uganda and which are the subject of this report. We then offer a brief overview of the confl ict itself and its effects on the civilian population. In Section III we detail the practice of forced marriage within the LRA, including the crimes and the harms faced by young women and girls. We document and discuss a clear pattern of command responsibility within the LRA for this crime. We discuss some of the main challenges that the women and girls and their children face upon leaving the LRA and returning to 1 See the Rome Statute on the International Criminal Court (1998).
Unsettling Sexual Hierarchies while Redressing Human Rights Violations
Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, 2002
... For example, child soldiers reportedly comprise nearly 80% of the Lords Resistance Army (LRA)... more ... For example, child soldiers reportedly comprise nearly 80% of the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) in Uganda. The LRA is active in fighting both the government forces of Uganda within the Ugandan borders, as GIRLS IN FIGHTING FORCES AND GROUPS 103 ...
The Survey for War Affected Youth (SWAY) is a research program dedicated to evidence-based humani... more The Survey for War Affected Youth (SWAY) is a research program dedicated to evidence-based humanitarian aid and development. SWAY employs new data tools and analysis to improve the design and targeting of protection assistance and reintegration programs for youth in northern Uganda. Youth have been both the primary victims and the primary actors in the protracted war between the Government of Uganda (GoU) and the Lords Resistance Army (LRA). It is not clear however exactly who is suffering how much and in what ways. We also have little sense of the magnitude incidence and nature of the violence trauma and suffering of youth in northern Uganda. Our understanding of the effects of war on women and girls is especially lacking whether they abducted or impacted in other ways. Government and NGO officials admit that they have little sense of the true scale of the problems facing young women and the proportion of females facing particular vulnerabilities. As a result programming is based o...
The Feinstein International Center at Tufts University develops and promotes operational and poli... more The Feinstein International Center at Tufts University develops and promotes operational and policy responses to protect and strengthen the lives and livelihoods of people living in crisis-affected and marginalized communities. The Center works globally in partnership with national and international organizations to bring about institutional changes that enhance effective policy reform and promote best practice. This report is available on-line at fic.tufts.edu