Complexity of Men's of Experiences of Violence in Northern Uganda: Victim, Perpetrator, Bystander

Background and Purpose:

Armed conflict and internal displacement has disrupted the social, cultural and economic fabric of communities in Northern Uganda. This paper will explore the effect of these forces on men, particularly men’s experience of violence from the conceptual framework of victim, perpetrator, bystander (Ehrenreich & Cole, 2005). This paper focuses on the changes in men’s relationships with women, other men and within the larger community as a result of armed conflict and internal displacement in northern Uganda.

Methods:

This paper utilizes the data from a qualitative study exploring the effect of armed conflict and displacement on men’s social, cultural and economic roles and responsibilities in northern Uganda that was conducted in 2018. This paper uses the qualitative data from four focus groups (57 men) and 48 individual interviews with men from two districts in northern Uganda (Acholi population). The ages of the men in the focus groups and individual interviews ranged from 22 – 95. Approximately half of this sample was 39 years or age or younger and half were 40 years of age and older. The vast majority identified as married and identified their livelihood as farming.

Audiotaped interviews were transcribed verbatim. Open coding was done with team of research assistants, and these codes were used to develop the broader themes that were used to code with the HyperResearch software program. IRB approvals were gained from the researcher’s U.S. institution as well as the two Ugandan agencies.

Findings:

The victim, perpetrator, bystander framework was used to conceptualize men’s reports of violence that they experienced (Basham, 2016; Ehrenreich & Cole, 2005). Men’s descriptions highlighted the complexity of the positions that men occupied. Men spoke of the position victim - being targeted for recruitment by rebel armed forces, living in constant fear of being abducted or killed, and being sexually assaulted. They spoke of being in the position of bystanders – having the property being taken or being forced to watch as soldiers raped their wives. Men also spoke of being in the position of perpetrators - being forced by the rebel armed forces to commit acts of violence on family members.

Conclusion and Implications:

Experiences of conflict and displacement affect men’s ability to reintegrate into society (UNHCR, 2007) and challenges in areas of GBV, promiscuity, and alcoholism persist (Annan & Brier, 2010; Ertl et al., 2016). The use of a trauma informed conceptual lens (victim, perpetrator, bystander) to better appreciate the subjective experience of men in northern Uganda not solely as perpetrators, but also as bystanders and victims can provide insight on the effects of the assaults on men’s identity and masculinity that affect men’s relationships with women, men and power structures. Such a conceptual frame can help men find a sense of purpose and heal from a life experience that had become for so many a “trauma in their minds.”