INSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE AND RECONCILIATION OCCASIONAL PAPER NUMBER 19 impact of psychological harm post conflict. Karen Brounéus observes that in the Rwanda context women carried “a heavier burden of war-related memories in their bodies and minds” as a result of the gendered nature of the genocide.50 “protectionist responses”.54 Further, Henri Myrttinen and others have raised questions over the ethics of using “selfie campaigns, hack-a-thons, hot air balloons, hashtags and handicraft sales” to raise awareness about rape during the 2014 Global Summit to end Sexual Violence in Conflict.55 Relegating conflict-related sexual violence as the primary (only) form of gender-based violations in the international “spotlight” has undoubtedly limited the field’s ability to deliver gender justice. Perhaps more disturbingly, it has been shown truth-seeking around acts of sexual violence can often reinforce gender stereotypes around “active” masculinity and “passive” femininity which may alienate victims further in the process. With reference to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), Kirsten Campbell has noted that men were primarily testifying about the conflict while women testified around sexual violence. She remarked this had profound implications over the way the past is recorded and understood. “If men primarily narrate war, then they appear to function as actors within the conflict. If women only narrate rape, then they appear as passive victims of sexual violence.”51 Addressing “Gender-skewed” Violence It is thus important to recognise the impact of what Margaret Walker has dubbed “gender-skewed” violence. This involves moving beyond conceptions of justice committed against an individual by understanding violations as part of a preexisting as well as “an unfolding and multi-layer process” of violence.56 Melandri argues that since sexual violence is used to undermine society’s social fabric, reconciliation processes must move beyond focusing on the victimsurvivor and perpetrator to include the family and local community.57 Processes thus need to be cognisant of the domino effects that result from the destruction of physical and social infrastructure during conflict or as a result of marginalisation. Biases often render these violations invisible or inevitable and if the intention of reconciliation is to “remedy the harm done and heal both society and individuals from the experience of violence and conflict” understanding how these are gendered is key.58 In order to stem gender-based violence it is thus critical to understand the power relations that underpin sexual violence. It is also worth noting that women’s access to reconciliation processes are often impeded by gender discrimination that is embedded in existing social systems. For example, addressing sexual violence may be hindered by the stigma ascribed to survivors who often chose to remain silent about their abuse. Melandri has observed that for reconciliation processes to be more gender sensitive consideration should be given to ensure changes in broader legal frameworks that discriminate against victims of sexual violence. While women’s rights are legally protected in many countries, in practice, women are often bound by customary or religious practice that limits their ability to inherit, own land or property. This could be challenged through the inclusion of full legal rights for those children born of rape or addressing discriminatory practices that may hinder survivors’ abilities to provide for their families. One example of this is displacement: in 2014 there were 11.4 million people displaced as a result of conflict in Africa, the highest of any continent and the majority of those displaced were women and children. These include displaced persons deemed refugees that have been dislocated across 22 countries including South Sudan, Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.59 Specific challenges have emerged over mitigating the vulnerabilities of women in displacement camps, where they are subject to a range of violations including sexual and gender-based violence. These violations have continued during resettlement initiatives, at which time women have been subjected to further disputes over access to land and resources. A number of circumstances make women and girls particularly vulnerable in displacement camps including the fact that they tend to be responsible for basic household needs, including procuring food and water. This often entails women and children venturing outside of the camps where they are in danger of abduction or sexual violence.60 It has also been shown that displaced women and girls have a higher mortality rate than men and boys because informal and formal systems of health services and food provision in camps privilege men and boys over women and girls.61 Understanding the dynamics giving rise to sexual violence may assist in avoiding spectacles such as the 2014 Global Summit on Sexual Violence in Conflict where perpetrators were routinely demonised as “monsters” and contrary to society at large.52 Henri Myrttinen and Aisling Swaine have observed that this “monster myth” suggests: “that once we remove sexual violence from conflict, the problem is “solved,” with limited problematisation of violent conflict and militarization themselves. It also raises the idea that rape outside of conflict or not perpetrated by uniformed “monsters” is not… also the ‘stuff of nightmares’”.53 The international preoccupation with the rape of women (primarily located in the global south) at the expense of other gender-based harms has been starkly reinforced through high-profile campaigns by Hollywood celebrities such as (now Dame) Angelina Jolie. Presented as moral and virtuous campaigns, this international lens echoes former “white crusader” interventions aimed at uplifting the “authentic victim subject” in profoundly gendered ways. As Kapur had noted in the Indian context: “the focus on the victim subject reinforces the depiction of women in the postcolonial world as perpetually marginalised and underprivileged” inviting In post-conflict and post authoritarian settings women also often continue to be subject to pre-existing inequalities and gender-based discrimination that in turn exacerbates their marginalisation. For example, the deliberate killing of 5