The Roar on the Other Side of Silence

Joyce Wu presents “The Roar on the Other Side of Silence: A pre-fieldwork presentation for a multi-country research on sexual violence in conflict/post-conflict situation”. Centre for International Governance & Justice (CIGJ), Regulatory Institutes Network, the Australian National University. At Coombs Extension Lecture Theatre, Bldg 8, Room 1.04. Tuesday 11 August 2009, 12.30pm – 1.30pm.

Wu’s seminar on “From ‘Fallen Blossoms’ to ‘Army Latrines’

In this seminar, I highlighted some of the discourses at hand surrounding the issue of sexual- and gender-based violence (SGBV) in conflict situation, and the influence they have upon aid agencies.

In particular, I wanted to explore how the prevailing understanding and distinction of the private vs. public understanding about violence against women during the so-called peacetime is carried into discussions about violence against women in conflict and post-conflict situation. This distinction is played out in the prioritisation of different forms of sexual violence, where military-perpetrated forms of sexual violence takes precedence, as demonstrated in wider media attention as well as the rhetoric of aid agencies and donors.