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Resistance as resilience: negotiating gendered contours in conflict and trauma

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Abstract

This article examines the experiences of women survivors of trauma in conflict situations and how they negotiate the gendered aspects of their experiences. I argue that survivors’ responses to the conflict and its consequences can be seen as resistance. Understood as a form of resilience, this practice of resistance opens up opportunities for envisioning and working towards peacebuilding after mass violence. The discussion draws from the experiences of refugee women from the South Sudanese community living in Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya, survivors of the ongoing conflict in South Sudan. Focusing on the intersection of trauma, gender, resilience and conflict, and by sensitively allowing the voices of the survivors of conflict-related trauma to be heard, I explore ways in which survivors resist traditional norms in their everyday responses to the challenges they face. This exploration seeks to contribute to the continued inquiry into how to respond to conflict globally and how to build a sustainable peace through more gender-sensitive approaches to conflict-related trauma.

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Notes

  1. The names of all the participants interviewed for this study have been changed to pseudonyms.

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Acknowledgements

I would like to acknowledge and appreciate the South Sudanese women in Kakuma Refugee Camp who so generously shared their stories with me; stories which continue to challenge and inspire me daily. A thousand articles cannot capture what you gave me; what you give the world.

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  1. University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

    Lydia Gitau

  2. University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

    Lydia Gitau

  3. 5/23 Hillcrest Road, Quakers Hill, NSW, 2763, Australia

    Lydia Gitau

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Gitau, L. Resistance as resilience: negotiating gendered contours in conflict and trauma. J Int Relat Dev 25, 925–945 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41268-022-00265-z

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