"I wanted them to be punished or at least ask us for forgiveness”: justice interests of female victim-survivors of conflict-related sexual violence and their experiences with gacaca

Rafferty, Judith

Abstract

Survivors of human rights abuses need to experience a sense of justice to support their individual recovery. Women who have experienced conflict-related sexual violence have specific justice interests that are distinct from those of survivors of other abuses. This article focuses on justice interests of Rwandan women who experienced sexual violence during the genocide in Rwanda and who had their cases tried in gacaca community courts between 2008 and 2012. The article discusses two justice interests that emerged during interviews with 23 Rwandan women about their gacaca experience. These interests include the punishment of perpetrators and perpetrators taking responsibility for their actions and the harm caused. Punishment was important to most women for several reasons, including retribution, safety, validation and vindication. Perpetrators taking responsibility by confessing, apologizing or asking for forgiveness was also important to many women and appeared to be an alternative way of experiencing validation and vindication.

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Genocide Studies and Prevention

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1911-9933

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International Association of Genocide Scholars

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DOI

10.5038/1911-9933.12.3.1556