Citation

Sommer M, Muñoz-Laboy M, Wilkinson Salamea E, Arp J, Falb KL, Rudahindwa N, Stark L. Violence Against Women 2018; 24(5): 565-585.

Affiliation

Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1077801217710000

PMID

29332551

Abstract

Numerous social factors shape girls' lives in conflict-affected settings, affecting their vulnerability to gender-based violence (GBV). Qualitative research methods were used to examine spaces of perceived safety and risk for girls living in two conflict-affected populations: camps in Ethiopia hosting primarily South Sudanese and Sudanese refugees and communities in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Three major themes emerged: (a) challenges around caregiver-child communication regarding development, sex, and sexual violence; (b) a typology of safe/risky spaces; and (c) the influence of male-dominated spaces on experiences and fear of GBV. The findings have implications for programs focused on reducing adolescent girls' vulnerability to violence within conflict-affected contexts.

Language: en

Keywords

adolescent girls; conflict-affected populations; fear; gender-based violence; safe spaces