Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Studies on conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) have largely focused on the immediate impact of the experience on survivors. There is a dearth of research on the effect of CRSV beyond the individual, particularly on families of survivors and how the experience of CRSV affects post-conflict family relationships including intimate-partner violence. In Northern Uganda, one of Africa’s longest protracted conflicts, close to one-third of women who were forcefully abducted during the 20-year conflict that began in 1986 report experiencing at least one form of CRSV including rape, forced pregnancy, and sexual slavery. Since 2006, thousands of former abductees, some of whom had children during their captivity, have come back to their communities and rejoined families. However, the impact of indirect CRSV exposure on families and the extent to which survivors use family relationships and support services during their re-integration process is not well understood.

In this study, we explore the ripple effects of CRSV from the perspectives of women survivors as well as immediate family members including mothers, fathers, and male partners in northern Uganda. We also assess their perceptions towards current health, social and economic services targeted towards persons affected by CRSV and identify the types of social institutions that they consider to be the most important for addressing their needs. We employed a convenience sample strategy to recruit participants from 3 post-conflict districts in Northern Uganda: Gulu, Lira, and Aromo. We conducted 39 semi-structured interviews (21 women survivors, 8 mothers of survivors, 10 male family members) between October 2016 and March 2017. Questions explored several areas related to participants’ perception of how the experience of CRSV continues to impact the health and social outcomes of survivors as well as family members, and perceived access and efficacy of different support services. Interviews will be transcribed verbatim, translated from Luo into English, and coded for analysis.

Institutions ability to design equitable and efficient reintegration programs for individuals and families affected by war-related sexual violence is contingent upon a thorough understanding of the complex and inter-generational needs of this population. Findings from this study will provide initial insights into the types of long-term challenges faced by post-conflict societies affected by sexual violence, and identify key entry points for policy and programmatic interventions.