The Subversive Victim: Victimhood, Agency & Sexual and Gender-based Violence in Colombian Non-State Armed Groups.

Project Commenced: 04/11/2024

Project Completion Date: 03/11/2025

Project PI/s
Dr Daniela Suarez Vargas (Postdoctoral Fellow)

Awarding Bodies
UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)

Other staff or partners involved
Professor Cheryl Lawther (primary mentor) Professor Luke Moffett (secondary mentor)

Project Overview
This research is funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) through the ESRC-NINE DTP Postdoctoral Fellowship Grant. When discussing Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) in Colombia, attention often centres on the harrowing experiences of civilian women at the hands of various armed groups. SGBV has been used as a tool to gain and maintain territorial, political, and social control in Colombia’s rural communities (CNMH, 2017). However, an overlooked aspect—by transitional justice experts, public institutions, policymakers, and Colombian society—is the prevalence of SGBV within military structures. Fighters within paramilitary and guerrilla groups often endured sexual abuse, reproductive violence, and gender-based discrimination from their commanders or fellow combatants. Despite this reality, these individuals are denied access to truth, justice, and reparations, as Colombia’s legal framework excludes them from being recognised as victims of the conflict (Victims’ Law, 2011). They are often perceived solely as perpetrators, failing to meet the stereotype of "ideal victims"—those deemed peaceful, passive, and innocent.

For women fighters, this marginalisation is compounded by societal views that their militancy contradicts traditional notions of femininity and womanhood, further complicating their recognition and inclusion in transitional justice mechanisms. My research investigates how the notion of the "ideal victim" has shaped the recognition of women fighters’ experiences of SGBV and their engagement with transitional justice in Colombia. By integrating insights from transitional justice, gender studies, victimology, law, political science, and international relations, I critically analyse how SGBV victimhood is framed within Colombia's transitional justice instruments. The study highlights how legal and institutional frameworks reinforce power imbalances and discriminatory practices rooted in gender and socio-political hierarchies. In Colombia, the "ideal victim" discourse has relegated women fighters who have endured SGBV to the status of "subversive victims." This categorisation arises from their dual role as combatants who challenge public order and as individuals who disrupt traditional gender norms and political expectations of victimhood. What sets these "subversive victims" apart is their agency—armed, political, or individual—through which they resist or reshape the narratives and stereotypes that perpetuate their marginalisation. This project builds upon and extends my doctoral research, aiming to enhance its scope and impact. It includes fieldwork in Colombia to examine how narratives of victimhood influence the recognition of SGBV experiences among fighters.

The fieldwork seeks to validate and enrich the theoretical findings and documentary analysis from my doctoral work by incorporating firsthand accounts from victims, civil society organisations, experts, and judicial and state officials involved with cases of SGBV within guerrilla and paramilitary groups. Additionally, this project will explore the under-researched experiences of LGBTQI+ fighters who have suffered SGBV in non-state armed groups and their participation in transitional justice mechanisms. While my doctoral research was limited by a lack of documentary sources on this subject, this study will address that gap. It will evaluate whether the concept of "subversive victim" applies to LGBTQI+ fighters and investigate the unique challenges they face in securing recognition of their victimisation within transitional justice frameworks. This research contributes to the fields of transitional justice, gender studies, victimology, political science, war studies, and Latin American studies. It underscores the importance of interdisciplinary approaches in examining the intersections of gender, law, and conflict while advocating for more inclusive and equitable transitional justice processes in Colombia.