This project supported the gender unit of the Historical Memory Group (HMG) to develop a unique interdisciplinary and participatory methodology to produce the first official report of the HMG Gender Unit. The forthcoming report focuses on the gendered dynamics of war in a particular region of Colombia, the northern coast. It analyzes how violence against women occurred within the armed conflict, the gender discriminatory mechanisms involved in that violence, the participation of women within that violence, and also the resistance initiatives promoted by women. This project has convened two regional memory workshops, developed a photography exhibition, and created therapy protocols and psycho-social aid for victims. The project has also produced a toolkit to be used by historical memory workers in communities that have experienced violent conflict. [Click here to view and download a toolkit for the construction of historical memory].

Background

Colombia has experienced over forty years of armed conflict. Law 975 of 2005 created the National Commission of Reparations and Reconciliation (NCRR), which is mandated to produce a "public report on the reasons for the illegal armed actors' creation and evolution" from 1964 onwards. The NCRR tasked an independent academic group, the Historical Memory Group (HMG), to produce the report, dignify the memories of the victims (as a form of symbolic reparations), ensure attention to traditionally excluded (including gendered) dimensions of the violence, and foster long-term reconciliation.

Activities

This project will produce the first official report of the HMG Gender Unit. The project will:

• Analyze how violence against women occurred within the armed conflict, the gender discriminatory mechanisms involved in that violence, the participation of women within that violence, and also the resistance initiatives promoted by women
• Convene two regional memory workshops, a photography exhibition, therapy protocols and psycho-social aid for victims
• Articulate and empower civil society networks to promote peace through a process of memory building
• Foster bridges between the academic community and civil society initiatives and networks (especially with women, who constitute the majority of the survivors of violence)
• Contribute to reconciliation and symbolic reparations for victims of violence in Colombia's internal armed conflict
• Produce a report on the gendered dynamics of violence on the North Atlantic Coast.

PROJECT DIRECTORS: Gonzalo Sánchez and María Emma Wills, grant administered by International Organization for Migration, Bogotá, Colombia

Explore Further

• Read the book La Masacre de Bahía Portete: Mujeres Wayuu en la Mira
• Explore other reports by the Historical Memory Group.
• Countries and Regions: Colombia