Securing the Future: Transformative Justice and Children ‘Born of War’

Abstract

Children born as the result of conflict related sexual violence often embody painful memories of war-affected communities. As a result, children ‘born of war’ experience abuse and neglect, social isolation and a sense of never-belonging. Existing scholarship grapples with the challenges of seeking justice for children ‘born of war’ given the complex ways their suffering is entangled with that of so many other victims. In post-conflict northern Uganda, a community-based organization composed of survivors of forced marriage and motherhood collectively seeks justice for their children in a process locally referred to as child tracing. The Women’s Advocacy Network brings together differently affected victim groups to help identify the paternal relatives of their children, mediate conflict and transform fractious relationships in order to secure a future for their children. Through this process, children who once divided communities, propel a collective reach towards justice.