Violence, Conflict and Social Cohesion: Links between Political Violence and Gender Based Violence

Violence, whether considered as political, structural or personal, is often conceptualised as a mechanism for resource accumulation or for resolving conflict/dissonance between groups, communities or individuals and is clearly linked, either as a cause or outcome of, weak social cohesion. Feminist explanations for violence suggest that hegemonic gender norms and cultural expectations shape how and when violence is used. However, much research on violence analytically separates the forms of violence commonly experienced (during and outside of conflict) by women, for instance distinguishing between conflict-related sexual violence (often perceived as a form of political violence), and intimate partner violence, acquaintance rape, etc. (perceived as violence within the private sphere). Evidence suggests that such distinctions are largely theoretical and, in practice, for women, politically motivated or directed violence and violence experienced with the private sphere are often connected. This false pillaring process however undermines our ability to adequately understand the connection between violence and social cohesion/instability. For instance, do experiences by individuals of conflict related violence and/or ‘ordinary’ violence in the home undermine social cohesion through reduced capabilities – particularly in terms of political participation and decision-making? On the other hand does intra-group perpetration of violence in fact strengthen solidarity and cohesion of the group, i.e. violence as a bonding force? Exploring these dynamics is essential to develop a fuller accounting of the impacts of cumulative experiences of violence, often experienced by women as both conflict-related and non-conflict related, on social cohesion, political engagement and participation. In this paper we articulate the conceptual links between violence against women and social cohesion and present preliminary findings from a comparative, mixed-method study taking place in Pakistan, South Sudan and Ghana. We challenge the distinctions between forms of violence and argue for a conceptualisation of ‘political violence’ that recognises that the violence experienced by women in both the public and private sphere are, often, not separate from but another aspect of political violence.