Hidden Voices and Social Healing: Lived Experiences in the Face of Militarization and Protracted Conflict
Lead Research Organisation:
King's College London
Department Name: War Studies
Abstract
The project will examine gendered experiences of trauma, marginalization and recovery in militarized settings and protracted conflicts through the case studies of Colombia and Sri Lanka. Research on transitional justice - the processes through which societies address past violence and abuses - has generally focused on formal institutional interventions in cases in which there have been clear transitions from authoritarian rule or violence. Less has been written on how to address the past in highly securitized settings with significant militarization and lingering conflict. Transitional justice literature has also tended to focus on formal institutions over informal and particularly psychosocial healing processes. Integrating trauma theory into transitional justice studies, this project examines the significant effects of militarization and protracted conflict on collective trauma, marginalization and recovery. Although highly securitized environments may curtail or limit public participation and compromise formal transitional justice proceedings, the project contends that long-term militarization may also open new spaces for transitional justice and community recovery efforts. The project looks at militarized contexts as repositories of collective trauma and hidden narratives, which encompass individual experiences and loss. The project's goal is to examine more innovative and unconventional healing and justice processes even with little political space and to assess the contributions that such processes can make alongside more conventional transitional justice mechanisms. It pays attention to voices that are often not heard in transitional justice research, particularly women who participated in or were directly affected by combat, focusing on former cadres, war widows and internally displaced populations. The project advances a multi-method innovative interdisciplinary framework that combines rigorous qualitative interview-based and ethnographic observation with survey research, and supplements the research with visual documentation.
Planned Impact
Research on transitional justice in Sri Lanka and Colombia is most timely. In the last year, global and domestic actors have called on both governments to pursue accountability for war crimes and set up investigations, particularly given peace talks in Colombia and a new government in Sri Lanka. This political momentum was clear in the engagement of Sri Lankan civil society and academics with my pilot research and the rigorous discussion in a Harvard conference on transitional justice that I co-organized in August 2015. In this project, I will produce policy-relevant research, give presentations and host workshops in both Sri Lanka and Colombia. Specifically, my research will have an impact on two types of beneficiaries. First, my empirical findings on the needs and experiences of marginalized war-affected female stakeholders, including ex-combatants, widows and IDPs, will benefit domestic and global practitioners, donors and policy-makers working on gender, healing and reintegration. While gender organizations and academics have carried out policy-focused research on the individual needs of female stakeholders, particularly on the economic situations and stigma facing widows and female cadres (see FOKUS 2015; Azmi 2015, Tabak 2013, Ortega 2015, Schwitalla and Dietrich 2011), through survey research and focus groups with women's broader communities, I will make recommendations that focus broadly on the social nature of reintegration and recovery. In addition, I will provide detailed recommendations through a multi-method approach that will reveal variations in stakeholders' experiences and needs, for instance, based on the amount of time that women participated in insurgent groups or the age at which they joined. Second, my research on informal community recovery in militarized settings and protracted conflicts will be useful to domestic and international practitioners and policymakers working on transitional justice, mental health and peace-building. The project plugs into a broader holistic turn in transitional justice policy and practice, which stresses community engagement, popular participation, conflict transformation and partnership (the UN 2008, the ICTJ 2008). Building on my previous conceptual work on the integration of formal and informal justice and recovery (see Friedman and Jillions 2015), I will provide concrete recommendations for how domestic and global agents can better support community actors and informal healing processes, particularly in psychosocial recovery. Throughout the project, I will work closely with local institutions to ensure wide dissemination, particularly my partners, who will translate my findings into Tamil, Sinhalese and Spanish and house reports at their organizations, and host and advertise workshops and presentations. In Sri Lanka, I secured strong support from ICES, the Center for Policy Alternatives, Shanthiham, the Women's Development Network, the Family Rehabilitation Center, LEADS, Women in Need, FOKUS Women and the Consortium for Humanitarian Agencies and mental health staff in Northern Sri Lanka. In Colombia, Taller de Vida, Casa Mujer and Justicia y Paz will support the project's research design and make use of its findings. I will also consult with and disseminate findings to my network of international NGOs, IGOs and government organizations, including USAID, the FCO, the UNDP, the International Office of Migration, the International Center for Transitional Justice, the International Crisis Group, Conciliation Resources and the US Institute for Peace. Finally, I will foster ownership for the research and an interactive, more symmetrical orientation by inviting stakeholders to the workshop, particularly in Jaffna, and contributing to publications produced by practitioners, notably Shanthiham and the Center for Policy Alternatives. A final London conference will disseminate the findings through a 'book scrub' and a visual images event featuring the project film and photography.
Organisations
- King's College London (Lead Research Organisation)
- London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London) (Collaboration)
- International Center for Ethnic Studies (Collaboration)
- Dejusticia - Law, Justice and Society Studies Center (Collaboration)
- The Day After Project (Syria) (Collaboration)
- Amani Institute Uganda (Collaboration)
- Universidad del Rosario (Project Partner)
- Shanthiham (Project Partner)
- International Centre for Ethnic Studies (Project Partner)
People |
ORCID iD |
Rebekka Friedman (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Rebekka Friedman
(2017)
Transitional Justice in Sri Lanka: Key Issues
Rebekka Friedman
(2016)
Culturally-Mediated Grieving: Women's Experiences in Northern Sri Lanka
in Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security Occasional Paper Series
Rebekka Friedman
(2019)
Challenges for Peace and Transitional Justice in Colombia
Friedman R
(2018)
Remnants of a Checkered Past: Female LTTE and Social Reintegration in Post-War Sri Lanka
in International Studies Quarterly
Friedman R
(2023)
Violations of the heart: Parental harm in war and oppression
in Review of International Studies
Title | Community Art Exhibition |
Description | My research in Colombia is being featured as part of a domestic traveling art exhibition in Colombia by the Grupo Regional de Memoria Historica. The exhibition will feature my interviews with war-affected women especially victims of sexual violence and female peace activists and leaders. I will also record a narration of my findings myself. |
Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
Year Produced | 2018 |
Impact | This exhibition will raise awareness and provoke debate in Colombia especially in urban areas, which were more removed from the conflict. |
Title | Documentary Film |
Description | I am producing a documentary film together with film maker, Meghan Horvath. We will film the documentary in Northern Sri Lanka in August this year. It will focus on war widows, disappearances and ritual healing. The film will follow the Aadi Amavasai grieving pilgrimage. |
Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
Year Produced | 2018 |
Impact | This will be an important film. it will raise awareness for the grant's partner organizations and war-affected women. It will also be a useful tool for academic events and audiences. |
Title | Online Museum: Hidden Voices (Sri Lanka) |
Description | In line with the visual images emphasis of the grant, my research is supporting a new online museum. One of the grant's partner organizations, the International Center for Ethnic Studies, is setting up the museum. They will feature a "Hidden Voices" section, which contains pictures and written and oral testimonies from my research. |
Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
Year Produced | 2018 |
Impact | This will be used for an online museum at Sri Lanka's leading research think tank. |
Description | In this grant I developed several key findings. 1) The important contribution of less visible informal mechanisms (including religion, ritual and art) to individual and community healing. 2) At the same time, the research showed that pre-war religious and ritual practices while providing an important space often also reinforced problematic forms of exclusion and hierarchies. This applied particularly to gender and class. 3) The grant highlighted the importance of how wars end on transitional justice and peace-building processes. In this sense, Sri Lanka was much more restricted than Colombia as Sri Lanka had a military victory followed by high levels of militarization. Colombia had a longer negotiated peace and therefore there was more room for pragmatism particularly vis-a-vis former armed groups. 4) The grant found that women were disproportionately affected by war in both countries yet were often the least visible civilian stakeholders. In Sri Lanka, women and girls constituted the majority of relatives of the disappeared and faced severe economic, psycho-social and physical restrictions. In Colombia, women were heavily affected by displacement and loss of land. 5) The research found that certain groups became more and less visible at certain points of time often for political and social reasons. 6) The research further developed conceptions of trauma and 'ambiguous loss'. It found that the goals of transitional justice are often at odds with each other in a context of unresolved loss (e.g. reparations and continuing the search for missing family members). |
Exploitation Route | My findings will be useful for academic and practitioner audiences. Accessible versions of the research are being prepared in local languages for the partner organizations in each of the countries under study. I have received further funding from the KCL Policy Institute to help me with the translation and distribution. The funding I received from the Policy Institute has also helped me prepare a final report on disappearances in Sri Lanka. |
Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Education,Government, Democracy and Justice,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections,Security and Diplomacy |
URL | https://hiddenvoices.co.uk/ |
Description | Yes, the findings have been used for three non-academic impacts. Firstly, I have made a documentary with a BBC international film editor. The film was shown in the UK. It will also be shown in Sri Lanka when I return on maternity leave (I am expecting a baby in the end of August 2019). It will also be featured on the online archival war museum of the International Center for Ethnic Studies (a high profile NGO based in Colombo, Sri Lanka). Secondly, the findings have been used to develop a policy report, which I co-wrote with Dr Hannah Partis-Jennings. This report was supported by the KCL Policy Institute. I have circulated it to officials at DFID and the Foreign Office. The primary report is to raise awareness and retain momentum to support families of the disappeared in Sri Lanka. Thirdly, the findings have been used to generate a network of academics and practitioners in Sri Lanka and Colombia. Individuals and organizations in both communities have found that they have a lot in common and to learn from each other and have kept in touch through the exchanges organized by the grant. |
First Year Of Impact | 2018 |
Sector | Education,Government, Democracy and Justice,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
Impact Types | Cultural,Societal |
Description | Global Research Fund Strategic Network Grant |
Amount | £151,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2018 |
End | 01/2019 |
Description | Policy Institute Fellowship |
Amount | £11,586 (GBP) |
Organisation | King's College London |
Department | School of Social Science and Public Policy |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2017 |
End | 01/2018 |
Description | ESRC Global Research Fund Strategic Network Grant |
Organisation | Amani Institute Uganda |
Country | Uganda |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | I am co-Investigator in an ESRC Global Research Fund Strategic Network Grant (value £ 151,000). I helped develop and run this network. The network brings together participants from Uganda, Sri Lanka, Colombia and Syria to examine the relationship between development, transitional justice and conflict. |
Collaborator Contribution | The partners (particularly Kirsten Ainley as the PI) were instrumental in developing the grant and organizing and hosting workshops. Workshops were held in each of the four countries under study. All of the co-investigators also helped prepare readings and briefs on each country. |
Impact | The project is multidisciplinary and has generated significant knowledge exchange and capacity building. It brings together 18 investigators from Uganda, Sri Lanka, Colombia and Syria. It has held four workshops in each of the countries under study (the Syrian one was held in Lebanon and Turkey where large numbers of Syrian refugees are based). The project focuses on justice, conflict and development. |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | ESRC Global Research Fund Strategic Network Grant |
Organisation | Dejusticia - Law, Justice and Society Studies Center |
Country | Colombia |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | I am co-Investigator in an ESRC Global Research Fund Strategic Network Grant (value £ 151,000). I helped develop and run this network. The network brings together participants from Uganda, Sri Lanka, Colombia and Syria to examine the relationship between development, transitional justice and conflict. |
Collaborator Contribution | The partners (particularly Kirsten Ainley as the PI) were instrumental in developing the grant and organizing and hosting workshops. Workshops were held in each of the four countries under study. All of the co-investigators also helped prepare readings and briefs on each country. |
Impact | The project is multidisciplinary and has generated significant knowledge exchange and capacity building. It brings together 18 investigators from Uganda, Sri Lanka, Colombia and Syria. It has held four workshops in each of the countries under study (the Syrian one was held in Lebanon and Turkey where large numbers of Syrian refugees are based). The project focuses on justice, conflict and development. |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | ESRC Global Research Fund Strategic Network Grant |
Organisation | International Center for Ethnic Studies |
Country | Sri Lanka |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | I am co-Investigator in an ESRC Global Research Fund Strategic Network Grant (value £ 151,000). I helped develop and run this network. The network brings together participants from Uganda, Sri Lanka, Colombia and Syria to examine the relationship between development, transitional justice and conflict. |
Collaborator Contribution | The partners (particularly Kirsten Ainley as the PI) were instrumental in developing the grant and organizing and hosting workshops. Workshops were held in each of the four countries under study. All of the co-investigators also helped prepare readings and briefs on each country. |
Impact | The project is multidisciplinary and has generated significant knowledge exchange and capacity building. It brings together 18 investigators from Uganda, Sri Lanka, Colombia and Syria. It has held four workshops in each of the countries under study (the Syrian one was held in Lebanon and Turkey where large numbers of Syrian refugees are based). The project focuses on justice, conflict and development. |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | ESRC Global Research Fund Strategic Network Grant |
Organisation | London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London) |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | I am co-Investigator in an ESRC Global Research Fund Strategic Network Grant (value £ 151,000). I helped develop and run this network. The network brings together participants from Uganda, Sri Lanka, Colombia and Syria to examine the relationship between development, transitional justice and conflict. |
Collaborator Contribution | The partners (particularly Kirsten Ainley as the PI) were instrumental in developing the grant and organizing and hosting workshops. Workshops were held in each of the four countries under study. All of the co-investigators also helped prepare readings and briefs on each country. |
Impact | The project is multidisciplinary and has generated significant knowledge exchange and capacity building. It brings together 18 investigators from Uganda, Sri Lanka, Colombia and Syria. It has held four workshops in each of the countries under study (the Syrian one was held in Lebanon and Turkey where large numbers of Syrian refugees are based). The project focuses on justice, conflict and development. |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | ESRC Global Research Fund Strategic Network Grant |
Organisation | The Day After Project (Syria) |
Country | Turkey |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | I am co-Investigator in an ESRC Global Research Fund Strategic Network Grant (value £ 151,000). I helped develop and run this network. The network brings together participants from Uganda, Sri Lanka, Colombia and Syria to examine the relationship between development, transitional justice and conflict. |
Collaborator Contribution | The partners (particularly Kirsten Ainley as the PI) were instrumental in developing the grant and organizing and hosting workshops. Workshops were held in each of the four countries under study. All of the co-investigators also helped prepare readings and briefs on each country. |
Impact | The project is multidisciplinary and has generated significant knowledge exchange and capacity building. It brings together 18 investigators from Uganda, Sri Lanka, Colombia and Syria. It has held four workshops in each of the countries under study (the Syrian one was held in Lebanon and Turkey where large numbers of Syrian refugees are based). The project focuses on justice, conflict and development. |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | A presentation with Dr Hannah Partis-Jennings at the International Studies Association |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Hannah-Partis Jennings and I presented a paper on the Sri Lankan diaspora, gender and nostalgia at the International Studies Association conference. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Conference presentation |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | I gave a presentation on my research on female-combatants on a panel entitled, A Gender-Just Peace? Wartime Legacies and Implications for Gender-Sensitve Peacebuilding'. The panel was at the International Studies Association annual conference. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | Final Symposium: Hidden Voices |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | The final symposium for the project featured three panels to showcase the research for the grant. It brought over academic and practitioners from rural and urban areas in Sri Lanka and Colombia. The symposium also displayed art by Colombian and Sri Lankan artists. Finally, it screened part of the project's documentary film for the first time. The screening was accompanied by talks and a question and answer session with myself, Hannah Partis-Jennings and two of the Sri Lankans in the film. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018,2019 |
URL | https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/hidden-voices-final-symposium-tickets-53078961603# |
Description | Gender and Transformative Justice Presentation |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | I gave a presentation on gender and transformative justice to practitioners working on gender and peace-building in Northern Sri Lanka. The workshop was jointly hosted by two Sri Lankan NGOs, Adayaalam and Vellamai. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Hidden Voices Guest Lecture |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | I gave a 90 minute lecture in Spanish on my research project to law students at the University de Rosario. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Hidden Voices Workshop (Sri Lanka) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | This was a one day exploratory workshop to bring together stakeholders from different sectors of society and from different disciplines, professions and countries in order to have an inclusive dialogue around gendered transition processes in Sri Lanka. This workshop was designed to create a space to work through ideas, and to share understandings and perspectives in relation to gender, memory and everyday aspects of violence, reconciliation and healing. It also laid the foundations and help shape the future direction of "Hidden Voices" and contribute to building networks in Sri Lanka and internationally. It also sought to draw out the potential ways that the "Hidden Voices" project might support and feed into Sri Lankan community transition processes, particularly relating to gender concerns, through artistic, academic or other avenues. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/hidden-voices-gendered-experiences-of-marginalisation-and-recovery-in... |
Description | Presentation on healing and reconciliation: Ministry of Defence, Foreign Commonwealth Office. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | This talk was intended to help the military critically reflect on the UK's peace-building policies and activities in commonwealth countries, including Sri Lanka. The talk sparked plenty of questions and discussion and interest in follow up work. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |