Colombian peace communities: the role of NGOs in supporting resistance to violence and oppression

Colombia's chronic war is one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. Amid armed actors, pervasive violence, and increasing militarisation, many citizens experience hostility from all sides. This violence continues the historical marginalisation of Afro-descendant, indigenous, and campesino communities and is intensified by the ‘global war on terror’. Some ‘peace communities’ are rejecting violence and seeking ways to survive within war—becoming protagonists in their own protection. This is risky: it draws accusations, threats, and attacks by all armed actors, including the state. Over time, the lack of sustainable livelihoods, weak internal cohesion, and antagonistic external dynamics test the determination of such communities. This article examines four peace communities and explores factors that generate and sustain grassroots protagonism. It ends by suggesting ways in which development organisations can enhance community-level protection and reinforce local peace processes, in order to contribute to broader peace building.     

Too many enemies: Mobilization,marginalization, and political violence

Over the past decades, a pattern has emerged across the Islamic world of secular actors struggling to build sustainable social movements while Islamists show a higher success rate in doing so—a dynamic often accompanied by high levels of violence and little space for dialogue between actors from across the political spectrum. In this article, we illustrate the utility of social movement theory (SMT) in explaining the ability of some movements to mobilize en masse, while others become marginalized. Furthermore, we suggest that SMT is useful in understanding the processes that produce socio-political dynamics conducive to violent rather than non-violent tactics. Through a case study of Bangladesh, where in 2013 the secular Shahbag mobilization was derailed by a massive Islamist counter-mobilization, this article shows how movements not only capitalize on, but actually contribute to, shifts in cultural discourse through political maneuvering and long-term socialization. By anchoring their ideology in pre-existing religio-cultural imagery, Islamists have been successful in casting themselves as “authentic” defenders of Islam and their secular opponents as “atheists.” In such a socio-political context, the space for dialogue among the various political actors is severely limited and the impetus to employ violent tactics strong.     

Networks,support groups,and domestic violence

This article discusses recent preliminary research findings on domestic violence against women in Calcutta, India, during 1994-95 and other evidence from around the world. The Beijing Conference on Women affirmed that physical, sexual, and psychological abuse of women occurs regardless of income, class, or culture. The author found from interviews with 47 abused Indian women from a mixture of backgrounds that middle-class women were the most private and difficult to interview. Findings from interviews suggest that women can resist or challenge the abuse by men, and resolution is the end to abuse. The research aimed to identify factors that enhanced resistance and resolution. Over 66% of abused women responded by informing others or crying or offering resistance. Single women and mothers are vulnerable due to stereotyping and economic insecurity. Women's groups recommend formation of shelters for abused women, income generation programs, and training projects, but funding is frequently limited for such activities. Some abused women are unaware of their rights or do not seek help from agencies. Illiteracy interferes with exchanges of pertinent information. Women in the Indian study did not accept violence as part of marriage. 70% of the women stated that after reporting the violence there was resolution. For sexual violence, resolution did not occur, and Indian law does not treat marital rape as a criminal offense. Most of the abused Indian women had contacts with governmental or other organizations. It appears that outside support is important to resolution and nonviolent relationships. Employment that is home-based isolates women and may not be useful as a resource for achieving resolution. Groups need to focus on capacity-building.     

Research on women's health: Some methodological issues

This article is written from the perspective of a health activist engaged in research on women's health. It lays out a methodological framework for studying issues concerning women's health, and goes on to describe a range of tools for collecting qualitative and quantitative information from the field. The article ends with a call for activist involvement in research to generate information that genuinely reflects women's needs and concerns, and could facilitate women's informed involvement in changing the circumstances that contribute to their poor health status.     

Palestinian women,violence, and the peace process

Much has been written about the contribution of Palestinian women to their nation's liberation struggle. They have not only survived in an atmosphere of remorseless violence, but have also made remarkable strides in terms of their rights and development as women. A question that has been less explored is the long-term impact of violence against women, whether in terms of their physical and psychological well-being or of their ability to participate in a meaningful way either in the conflict itself or in the post-conflict situation. This paper argues that, although Palestinian women are not simply victims but also agents of violence, such violence--whether random or institutionalised, perpetrated by the enemy or by their own people--places significant constraints on their ability to participate in the national liberation struggle. Consequently, they are inadequately prepared to contribute towards the peace process and, therefore, are prevented from realising their full potential in the new state.     

Terrorism,violence against the public,and the media: The Australian approach

This paper examines the balance between the apparently competing objectives of government and the media in the general area of violence against the public and details the Australian model for handling issues associated with terrorism and the media. Australia's counterterrorism strategy may be considered holistic, going beyond the idea of a comprehensive capability for response to an actual public incident to include preventive measures and enhancement of the national security environment, suggesting that all elements of the society, including the media, regard security as a cooperative endeavor. These elements have been developed in the “National Anti‐Terrorist Plan” (NATP), developed by Australia's Standing Advisory Committee on Commonwealth/State Cooperation for Prevention against Violence (SAC‐PAV). For the past several years, the SAC‐PAV has been developing a basic strategic guide to provide structure for its many activities, and the committee has agreed that the NATP requires a fourfold strategy for dealing with the media: (1) public communication policies and guidelines, (2) incorporating media response and incident management strategies, (3) media training, and (4) physical controls. In addition, the SAC‐PAV has formulated a set of guidelines for the media to apply when covering terrorist incidents, indicating clearly what crisis managers and counterterrorism response organizations expect of media handling of public crises.     

Poverty reduction and violence against women: exploring links,assessing impact

In 1993 the international community acknowledged for the first time that violence against women (VAW) is a human rights issue, while VAW is also increasingly recognised both as a global public health issue and a barrier to sustainable development. However, even where they are committed to reducing VAW through their programmes and advocacy activities, development practitioners are sometimes unsure about where this fits into the poverty‐reduction agenda. This article tries to situate VAW in the poverty discourse, drawing from a range of documentary sources to outline the conceptual links between VAW, poverty, and human development. It then goes on to look at issues surrounding the impact assessment of programmes aimed at reducing VAW, and offers examples of how specific programmes have been evaluated.     

The Homegrown Threat: State Strength,Grievance, and Domestic Terrorism

Scholars maintain that, similar to insurgency, terrorist violence is precipitated by both relative deprivation and state weakness. Yet aggrieved minority groups within a country should turn to terrorism when they are weak relative to the state rather than strong. Empirical evidence shows minority group discrimination and fragile political institutions to independently increase domestic terror attacks. But it remains unclear whether grievances drive domestic terrorism in both strong and weak states. Using data from 172 countries between 1998 and 2007, we find that for strong states the presence of minority discrimination leads to increased domestic terrorism, while for weak states the presence of minority discrimination actually leads to less domestic terrorism. Consequently, increasing state capacity may not be a panacea for antistate violence, as nonstate actors may simply change their strategy from insurgency or guerrilla warfare to terrorism. Efforts to reduce terrorist violence must focus on reducing grievance by eliminating discriminatory policies at the same time that measures to improve state capacity are enacted.     

Democratic institutions,political representation and women's empowerment: The quota debate in India

This article reflects upon the debate on quotas for women in representative institutions of government. It poses the question whether current debates about quotas for women are relevant to debates on women's empowerment. In doing so, it points to the bases upon which the arguments for and against quotas have been presented within the Indian political system, taking into account the historical debates on caste, the emergence of coalition politics, the strength of the women's movement, and the engagement of women's groups with the politics of difference. The central argument of the article is that unless the issues of class‐based and caste‐based differences are taken seriously by women's groups in India, the wider question of empowerment cannot be satisfactorily answered. The conclusion assesses whether the Indian example is of relevance to wider debates on quotas as strategies of empowerment.     

Microfinance and women's empowerment: A lesson from India

This article describes an NGO project intended to empower scheduled caste women working in the silk-reeling industry in India through the provision of microfinance. It documents the impact that the project had on their economic and social status over a period of time and highlights the negative consequences of excluding male relatives from playing any meaningful role. It suggests ways in which the project might have been made more male inclusive while still empowering women. At the same time, it acknowledges that even if the men's hostility to the project had been overcome, the women's micro enterprises were unlikely to have been viable commercially. This is because the project insisted that the women operate as a group in what was a high-risk area of economic activity, with no clear strategy as to how their work could be sustained.     

Yesterday,AIDS and structural violence in South Africa

ABSTRACT

This article is based on a reading of the South African film Yesterday, which deals with the topic of ? AIDS. In the discourse analysis of the film text, the role of signs – verbal, visual and aural – in constructing meaning is examined, as well as the effect of different filming techniques. The film is then related to the broader South African socio-political context. The writer considers how representative Yesterday is of the AIDS situation in South Africa, a question which necessitates going beyond the film text and considering actual events in South Africa, past and present, as well as referring to other relevant examples of AIDS-related discourse.     

Health,work opportunities and attitudes: a review of Palestinian women's situation in Lebanon

This study examined the health status, employment opportunities, and aspirations of Palestinian women refugees in Lebanon. Data were obtained from 1501 women registered with a UN relief agency and living in 5 regions; 80% lived in camps. 27.6% were aged 20-34 years, 27.1% were aged 35-44 years, and 24.7% were aged 45-60 years. 92% were women with children. About 43% of the 988 women with children had used or currently used contraception. 63% of these women had over 4 children. Among the 24 teenagers, 6 were current users; 41.7% had a child under the age of 16 years, and 62.5% had more than 1 child. Only 25% of all respondents had fewer than 3 children. Short birth intervals were common. About 16.4% of respondents were working. About 25% of mothers and 17% of all respondents never attended school. Tradition, marriage, and financial constraints were reported as reasons for education deficits. A very high rate of women miscarried. 5% had abortions. Mothers reported self-fulfillment reasons for high fertility. Health status included high and early fertility, short birth intervals, frequent miscarriages, lack or misuse of birth control, high child mortality, and lack of knowledge about women's health. Women's work, albeit very limited, was essential to the household. Employed women were older, household heads, and with multiple burdens. Women had aspirations for themselves and their children for education, work, a return to peace, and a home in Palestine. Attainment fell short of aspirations, mostly due to lack of support within the family and the school system, and tradition. Many young women with aspirations had low expectations of success.     

Spousal visa law and structural violence: fear,anxiety and terror of the everyday

Attending to mundane bureaucratic politics can highlight forms of everyday structural violence. This article draws attention to the spousal visa law in the UK. On the surface, this law does violence to family life, forcing indefinite separation. However, this law is also symbolic of some of the main structural violence in society that cross-cut gender, race, ethnicity, socio-economic class, age, education level and profession, thus making tangible some of the intangible borders in society. Through the vehicle of this law we will consider how structural violence can operate as an everyday terror, disrupting the boundaries of public and private life.     

Doctrine and violence: The impact of combatant training on civilian killings

Military theorists and practitioners have long argued that training shapes how combatants treat civilians during war. Yet there is little systematic evidence regarding the impact of training on wartime behavior, and almost none for non-state armed groups, despite the fact that such groups intensively train their fighters in order to shape their behavior towards civilian populations. This article argues that among insurgent groups that emphasize the strategic and tactical importance of restraint towards civilian populations, political training can reduce civilian killings. We test the observable implications of our theory in the case of Colombia, using survey data on former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) insurgents and sub-national data on civilian killings. We find support for our hypothesis, with results that are robust to a range of model specifications and controls, including alternate sources of combatant discipline and obedience, such as military training and punishment.     

Bringing in the rogues: political violence,the British government and Sinn Fein

The article explores the relationship between the British government and the Irish Republican movement. In contrast to the established view, it argues that the British government had never had any objection to the inclusion of Republicans into a political settlement, and that – therefore – there was no need for any significant changes in government policy during the 1990s. Far from being an obstacle to inclusion, the British government's political strategy not only provided an incentive for the IRA to cease its military campaign, but also the opportunity to follow it up with an equitable political process, resulting in the Belfast Agreement.