Transformative Gender Justice : Constructions of Justice, Violence, and Reparations for Survivors of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence in Northeastern Nigeria

Abstract: Alongside global acknowledgements of the gendered nature of conflict, the academic field of transitional justice is shifting towards the newly emerging concept of transformative justice. Within this, reparations are particularly seen as the most agent-centric tool for structural transformation. In northeastern Nigeria, the conflict between Boko Haram and the state has seen a prevalence of conflict-related sexual violence, but survivors have struggled to claim their right to reparations. In this context, the Global Survivors Fund has established an interim project to ensure survivors have access to reparations. Through qualitative interviews with project staff and partners, this case study aims to explore how concepts of justice and transformation are constructed in the local context, and uses a gender lens as central in the analysis of these constructions. Principal findings were that justice for survivors is constructed within the rigid gender hierarchy present in the Northeast, and that gendered stigma manifests itself differently, with females subjected to societal and economic ostracization, and males unable to identify as survivors due to the risks to their masculine identity. The provision of greater agency, education, and reduced community stigma around survivorship through reparations were constructed as transformational aspects of the Global Survivors Fund’s project.