Gendering and Racialising the Intersectional Victim: What does Justice look like for female Afro-Colombian Victims of the Conflict?

• In Event: Actors of transitional justice: Beyond the victim – perpetrator binary 1

Abstract

When it comes to Afro-Colombian women’s mobilisation in so-called post-conflict Colombia, their demands cannot be understood without employing a lens that draws into focus the specifically racial/ethnic dynamics that both shaped and continue to shape their experiences of violence. This paper will contest the idea of a monolithic “victim” by highlighting the specific intersectional experiences of Afro-Colombian female victims of the conflict.

It has been noted that Afro-Colombian women suffered disproportionately during the conflict based on their position as women and as racialised subjects. Indeed, they are differentially included in various TJ mechanisms given their intersectional identities and experiences. This paper will summarise and address the specific ways in which Afro-Colombian women experience(d) violence because of their positions in society. Beyond this, however, it will highlight the strategies they continue to employ in an attempt to obtain guarantees on their rights as victims, as Afro-Colombians, and as women.

Importantly, given the ongoing struggles and violence they face, even in the wake of Colombia’s Peace Process, we will able to see that the ongoing decision to act collectively is in part shaped by an intersectional understanding of how they feel included and excluded from transitional justice processes. Finally, this paper will comment on what a shared vision of ‘justice’ looks like for this community.

Author

• Julia M Zulver, University of Oxford