Nora Hendges
Research Mentor(s): Rebecca Rose
Mentor Department: Political Science
Authors: Nora Hendges, Rebecca Rose, Biz Herman
Session: Session 5 (2:00pm – 2:50pm)
Presentation Type: Poster 108
Abstract
How does variation in women’s roles and post-war support affect narratives of trauma? This study seeks to understand how both the positions women occupy in conflict and the support they receive in the aftermath, can impact the personal effects of war. Historically, narratives of war have been dominated by male perspectives, often overshadowing women’s experiences and responses to conflict. In this study, we place an emphasis on trauma, to overcome the traditional conceptions which have been predominantly androcentric and thus, failed to fully capture the unique ways in which women experience potentially traumatic events (PTEs). Our research involved collecting 120 oral accounts through semi-structured interviews with women who participated in modern conflict across six sites (Bangladesh, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Egypt, Northern Ireland, the United States, and Vietnam). We employed NVivo software for content analysis to identify the diversity in women’s responses to PTEs. By doing so, we seek to enrich current understandings of trauma with a comprehensive view that acknowledges the complexity and diversity of women’s experiences. The way history is constructed, and whose voices are amplified or omitted, fundamentally shapes our views of the past, present, and future. Through incorporating women’s narratives, we gain more comprehensive insights into experiences of war and trauma. The findings from this research have important implications for state and societal support systems, which must be informed by these varied perspectives to provide effective aid for those who experience war.
