Rural Women in Colombia, Facing the Postconflict: A Qualitative Synthesis

• Published in: Trauma, Violence, & Abuse Vol. 23; no. 4; pp. 1302 - 1316
• Main Authors: Suárez-Baquero, Daniel Felipe Martín, Bejarano-Beltrán, Martha Patricia, Champion, Jane Dimmitt
• Format: Book Review Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.10.2022; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Classification; Conflict; Female roles; Pregnancy; Qualitative research; Reproductive health; Rural areas; Sexual behavior; Social justice; Synthesis; Victimization; Victims; Women; Colombia; inequalities; gender; armed conflict; pregnancy; human rights
• DOI: 10.1177/1524838021995980
• ISSN: 1524-8380

Women have been the major victims of the Colombian armed conflict for more than 50 years. Nowadays, when the country faces an aftermath focused on reconciliation, understanding women’s experiences during the conflict is key to providing them tools for social justice and effective fulfilling of their needs. This qualitative synthesis of literature includes publications in Spanish and English of electronic databases over the past 20 years regarding rural women and the Colombian armed conflict. Studies were included for review if they were published between 2000 and 2019, were qualitative peer-reviewed articles, and addressed directly or indirectly the pregnancy process as well as the women’s sexual and reproductive health in rural Colombia. Seven of 169 articles initially identified were included for an inductive analysis of categories and themes. After the analysis process, three main themes emerged from the literature: (a) crumbling families, (b) being a woman: the challenges between being a peacemaker and a victim, and (c) protecting and caring of life. These three themes comprise 10 categories and 20 subcategories that provide support to the inductive qualitative synthesis. This review provides a comprehensive synthesis of the Colombian armed conflict focused on the victimization of women. It concludes with reflections about the Colombian women’s role in transitioning toward peace.