The gendered costs of stigma: How experiences of conflict-related sexual violence affect civic engagement for women and men

Abstract

A common understanding emphasizes the destructive effects of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) on social cohesion and community life.Stressing the agency of survivors, we present an alternative argument. Ourtheory predicts that survivors seek to counteract the stigma attached to CRSVby contributing to the community in the form of civic engagement. Drawingon three original surveys from Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Liberia,and Sri Lanka and relying on list experiments to reduce underreporting bias,we find that survivors of CRSV indeed show increased levels of civic engage-ment. This civic effect is consistent across the three contexts and very likelycausal. We also rule out an alternative mechanism based on posttraumaticgrowth and dispel concerns that increased civic engagement comes at theexpense of decreased intergroup relations. However, looking at sex differ-ences, our results are more sobering. While in line with our prediction, theydo not support the optimistic notion that survivors’ mobilization results infemale empowerment and the closing of existing gender gaps in civic behav-ior. Our findings have important implications for our understanding of CRSV,the legacy of violent conflict, and the gendered nature of politics.