empowerment through forgiveness
words into action
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hroughout the table dialogues at the conference, when the question of “justice” was discussed, it was often highlighted that an important and often forgotten element is reconciliation. The goal is to aid with survivor empowerment – shifting the power balance from perpetrator to victim. But the process of forgiveness is a difficult one, requiring understanding of motivations behind violence and rape, as well as possible external influences including drugs and peer pressure. It also requires finding compassion for the perpetrator’s family, searching for a common ground in suffering. Truth and reconciliation commissions, such as in East Timor or Guatemala, have been promoted for national and personal healing. While integrating testimonies from women, their approaches to reconciliation through “forgive and forget” have been criticized for ignoring the harmful effect on the individual. Many conference participants noted that the journey of personal forgiveness is emotional and no one can be pushed to forgive – they can only be supported to release their status of a victim. The commissions also have complex judicial ties, with some like in South Africa providing amnesty to most who testify, encouraging openness about roles in violence, while others leading to further investigations. Past commissions have for the most part, failed to improve women’s security and empowerment with recommendations, as in the three cases stated above, never fully implemented.
Fighting Impunity in Bosnia
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survivor of rape during Bosnia-Herzegovina’s war, Bakira Hasecic found herself living amongst the perpetrators of violence after the conflict ended. Her organization, Women Victims of War, collected evidence in the region against those who participated in violent acts and pressured authorities to press charges. When the International Tribunal of the Former Yugoslavia finally indicted a leader of a local paramilitary, Hasecic testified against him, sharing her own experience in his rape camps. But yet, sexual violence was left out of his final conviction. Despite the setbacks, Hasecic and Women Victims of War continues their struggle to bring perpetrators of the mass violence during Bosnia’s war to justice.
WOMEN FORGING A NEW SECURITY: ENDING SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN CONFLICT | Montebello, Canada: May 23-25, 2011
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