After Rape
Violence, Justice, and Social Harmony in Uganda

Holly Porter explores wrongdoing and justice, and sexual violence and rape, among the Acholi people in northern Uganda.

Holly Porter (Author)

9781316631867, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 11 April 2019

270 pages, 6 b/w illus.
23 x 15.2 x 1.5 cm, 0.45 kg

'Based on extensive and sensitive fieldwork, After Rape illuminates Acholi ideas of justice and appropriate sex. A master of contextualization, Holly Porter deftly examines rape in relation to gender relations, the legacy of war and the ideals of social harmony in contemporary northern Uganda. With its reflections on methodology, careful analysis, and sympathetic portrayals of distressing situations, this is a truly thought-provoking book.' Susan Reynolds Whyte, University of Copenhagen

Following the ICC intervention in 2005, northern Uganda has been at the heart of international justice debates. The emergent controversy, however, missed crucial aspects of Acholi realities: that the primary moral imperative in the wake of wrongdoing was not punishment but, instead, the restoration of social harmony. Drawing upon abundant fieldwork and in-depth interviews with almost 200 women, Holly Porter examines issues surrounding wrongdoing and justice, and sexual violence and rape, among the Acholi people in northern Uganda. This intricate exploration offers evidence of a more complicated and nuanced explanation of rape and its aftermath, suggesting a re-imagining of the meanings of post-atrocity justice, whilst acknowledging the role of sex, power and politics in all sexual experiences between coercion and consent. With its wide investigation of social life in northern Uganda, this provocative study offers vital analysis for those interested in sexual and gender violence, post-conflict reconstruction and human rights.

Figures
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
1. Introduction
2. Life and participant reflection in northern Uganda
3. Rape, wrongdoing and justice
4. Acholi love: sex and social belonging
5. Consent and rape: when does 'no' mean no?
6. Social harmony and the space between local solutions and formal judicial system
7. Mango trees, offices and altars
8. Comparing the aftermath of civilian and combatant rape
9. Conclusion: medicine and lightning
References.

Subject Areas: International human rights law [LBBR], Regional government policies [JPRB], Physical anthropology [JHMP], Social & cultural anthropology, ethnography [JHMC], Anthropology [JHM], Sociology & anthropology [JH], Ethical issues & debates [JFM], Cultural studies [JFC], Society & social sciences [J]