Citation

Roe MD. Women Ther. 1992; 13(1-2): 89-104.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1992, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1300/J015V13N01_09

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Based on interview data and observations primarily from Central America and the Philippines, this article reviews the psychosocial adaptation of women forced to flee their homes due to armed conflict, but who remain in settings of war violence. The pervasive danger and fear in such settings impedes progress toward psychological and social equilibrium. These women experience terror, a spectrum of war-related emotional traumas, gender and family role instabilities, and sexual vulnerabilities. These women may also experience empowerment in the midst of armed conflict through the formation of new communities in which they share the leadership, through filling essential roles within these communities, and through concretization, in which they both analyze and take action against political and economic oppression and gender subordination.