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6 - Hard-Fought Victories

Assessing the Human Rights Benefits Felt by Victims of Violence in DR Congo

from Part II

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 May 2018

Milli Lake
Affiliation:
London School of Economics and Political Science
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Summary

Chapter 6 draws from interviews with a number of Congolese women, in order to understand some of the immediate repercussions of gender justice interventions for those most intended to benefit. Interviews revealed that, in spite of dramatically different motivations for seeking legal remedy, NGO outreach and support has allowed many victims to exert new forms of agency after violence. New entry points into the legal system have allowed victims of violence to access social, ideological, and sometimes material benefits that were not previously accessible. Many have adopted the language of legal remedy and punitive justice to reject customary practices that they found to be abusive, disempowering, or dehumanizing. Legal outreach has provided a new vocabulary for demanding formal recognition that a violation or wrong occurred. Others have instrumentally adopted the language of the law to access social or material benefits, such as antiretroviral treatment or prenatal care. Rather than being “socialized” into new frames of legal consciousness as legal outreach NGOs intended, legal aid has served as a vehicle to other avenues of support for some women.
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Strong NGOs and Weak States
Pursuing Gender Justice in the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa
, pp. 197 - 214
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2018

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  • Hard-Fought Victories
  • Milli Lake, London School of Economics and Political Science
  • Book: Strong NGOs and Weak States
  • Online publication: 04 May 2018
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108297745.008
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  • Hard-Fought Victories
  • Milli Lake, London School of Economics and Political Science
  • Book: Strong NGOs and Weak States
  • Online publication: 04 May 2018
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108297745.008
Available formats
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  • Hard-Fought Victories
  • Milli Lake, London School of Economics and Political Science
  • Book: Strong NGOs and Weak States
  • Online publication: 04 May 2018
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108297745.008
Available formats
×