Imprisoning men in violence: Masculinity and sexual abuse: a view from South African prisons

This article explores sexual violence in male prisons in South Africa. It focuses on the social meanings and identities that surround sexual violence, particularly the ideas of manhood that shape both the perpetration of sexual abuses and how it is dealt with – or not. The dominant inmate culture endorses prison rape and long-term relationships of sexual abuse, largely through legitimising violence and through replicating societal notions of gender and sexuality. The Department of Correctional Services and its staff have so far failed to meaningfully engage with the problem of sexual violence in prisons, or to provide adequate support for victims. There are indications that the department may be beginning to address the problem, but past attempts to get the issue of sexual violence recognised, provide cautions as to how this should be done. Specifically, there is a need to ensure that damaging and brutal notions of masculinity are challenged rather than accentuated in the process of addressing the problem

YOUR BROTHER, MY WIFE: Sex and gender behind bars

Many of us know that sex, sexual violence and varying levels of sexual coercion occur in our prisons. But the subject of sex in prison remains an uncomfortable one. While recent media reports and revelations on prison corruption have played a role in bringing it more into the public arena, generally not much is understood about the dynamics of sex in men’s prisons. This article provides some insight into the relationships of power and vulnerability that underpin much of the sex that is taking place in this context

Ex-combatants as social activists: war, peace and ideology in Burundi

Post-print (lokagerð höfundar)In both academic literature and policy discourse, ex-combatants are at times depicted as a threat to peace rather than agents of positive change. However, many of my ex-combatant interlocutors in Burundi were working actively on conflict resolution and peace-building projects. In addition, their experience and knowledge of combat was frequently stated as a deterrent for going back to such a situation. Though it may seem contradictory, the reasons my informants gave for having joined the war sounded remarkably similar to motivations for social activism. They usually expressed it as a desire to contribute to a better, more just, community. I argue that ideology played an important part in motivation to join armed groups during the war and carries over in participation in social activism today. These decisions need not be seen as polar opposites, but rather as similar motivations towards contributing to positive change taken in different circumstances.The research received grants from the Icelandic Research Fund [grant number 152143-053]; the Nordic Africa Institute and Icelandic International Development Agency.Peer reviewe