‘At the end of their relationship, that man offered her a house’: Qualitatively exploring Congolese women’s agency in navigating sexual relations with UN peacekeepers within the context of a patriarchal setting in eastern DRC

Jessica F. Petz; Gloria Nguya; Martin Baguma Nguba; Allison Goebel; Sabine Lee; Susan A. Bartels

doi:10.1080/17441692.2023.2291698

‘At the end of their relationship, that man offered her a house’: Qualitatively exploring Congolese women’s agency in navigating sexual relations with UN peacekeepers within the context of a patriarchal setting in eastern DRC

Jessica F. Petz, Gloria Nguya, Martin Baguma Nguba, Allison Goebel, Sabine Lee, Susan A. Bartels^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

History and Cultures

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

19 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The UN’s Zero Tolerance Policy, which bans all relationships between UN staff and locals, portrays all relationships as exploitative, fails to account for nuances in these relationships and does not acknowledge the agency of local women or communities. This study uses community-based qualitative data from eastern DRC that shares narratives on a wide variety of consensual relationships between peacekeepers and local women. Our paper uses a data-driven approach, including a post-colonial feminist lens, and ideas of structural agency to provide an expanded definition of agency that invites readers to re-examine their views of women in conflict settings. Finally, we provide clear recommendations for the UN and other international non-governmental agencies on policies related to sexual exploitation and abuse.

Original language	English
Article number	2291698
Number of pages	17
Journal	Global Public Health
Volume	19
Issue number	1
Early online date	29 Dec 2023
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2023.2291698
Publication status	Published - 2024

Bibliographical note

Acknowledgements:
Our heartfelt thanks go out to all participants for their invaluable insights and shared experiences. We extend our sincere gratitude to SOFEPADI and MARAKUJA for their vital contributions to this study. The data collection would not have been possible without the support of Laurie Webster (QES Insight). Our recognition and appreciation also extend to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) for their generous financial backing. We note the passing of Ms. Zawadi Mambo Albertine. In her role at SOFEPADI, Zawadi was relentless in her efforts to uplift women in the DRC. Her absence leaves a significant void, and without her, this study would not have been possible.

Keywords

Agency
Democratic Republic of Congo
peacekeeping
sexual exploitation
sexual abuse
United Nations

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1080/17441692.2023.2291698Licence: Creative Commons: Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC)

PetzJ2023AttheeFinal published version, 2.03 MBLicence: Creative Commons: Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC)

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of '‘At the end of their relationship, that man offered her a house’: Qualitatively exploring Congolese women’s agency in navigating sexual relations with UN peacekeepers within the context of a patriarchal setting in eastern DRC'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this

Petz, J. F., Nguya, G., Nguba, M. B., Goebel, A., Lee, S., & Bartels, S. A. (2024). ‘At the end of their relationship, that man offered her a house’: Qualitatively exploring Congolese women’s agency in navigating sexual relations with UN peacekeepers within the context of a patriarchal setting in eastern DRC. Global Public Health, 19(1), Article 2291698. https://doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2023.2291698

@article{155784a703654602b647e21aa43b08bb,

title = "{\textquoteleft}At the end of their relationship, that man offered her a house{\textquoteright}: Qualitatively exploring Congolese women{\textquoteright}s agency in navigating sexual relations with UN peacekeepers within the context of a patriarchal setting in eastern DRC",

abstract = "The UN{\textquoteright}s Zero Tolerance Policy, which bans all relationships between UN staff and locals, portrays all relationships as exploitative, fails to account for nuances in these relationships and does not acknowledge the agency of local women or communities. This study uses community-based qualitative data from eastern DRC that shares narratives on a wide variety of consensual relationships between peacekeepers and local women. Our paper uses a data-driven approach, including a post-colonial feminist lens, and ideas of structural agency to provide an expanded definition of agency that invites readers to re-examine their views of women in conflict settings. Finally, we provide clear recommendations for the UN and other international non-governmental agencies on policies related to sexual exploitation and abuse.",

keywords = "Agency, Democratic Republic of Congo, peacekeeping, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, United Nations",

author = "Petz, {Jessica F.} and Gloria Nguya and Nguba, {Martin Baguma} and Allison Goebel and Sabine Lee and Bartels, {Susan A.}",

note = "Acknowledgements: Our heartfelt thanks go out to all participants for their invaluable insights and shared experiences. We extend our sincere gratitude to SOFEPADI and MARAKUJA for their vital contributions to this study. The data collection would not have been possible without the support of Laurie Webster (QES Insight). Our recognition and appreciation also extend to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) for their generous financial backing. We note the passing of Ms. Zawadi Mambo Albertine. In her role at SOFEPADI, Zawadi was relentless in her efforts to uplift women in the DRC. Her absence leaves a significant void, and without her, this study would not have been possible.",

year = "2024",

doi = "10.1080/17441692.2023.2291698",

language = "English",

volume = "19",

journal = "Global Public Health",

issn = "1744-1692",

publisher = "Routledge",

number = "1",

}

Petz, JF, Nguya, G, Nguba, MB, Goebel, A, Lee, S & Bartels, SA 2024, '‘At the end of their relationship, that man offered her a house’: Qualitatively exploring Congolese women’s agency in navigating sexual relations with UN peacekeepers within the context of a patriarchal setting in eastern DRC', Global Public Health, vol. 19, no. 1, 2291698. https://doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2023.2291698

‘At the end of their relationship, that man offered her a house’: Qualitatively exploring Congolese women’s agency in navigating sexual relations with UN peacekeepers within the context of a patriarchal setting in eastern DRC. / Petz, Jessica F.; Nguya, Gloria; Nguba, Martin Baguma et al.
In: Global Public Health, Vol. 19, No. 1, 2291698, 2024.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - ‘At the end of their relationship, that man offered her a house’

T2 - Qualitatively exploring Congolese women’s agency in navigating sexual relations with UN peacekeepers within the context of a patriarchal setting in eastern DRC

AU - Petz, Jessica F.

AU - Nguya, Gloria

AU - Nguba, Martin Baguma

AU - Goebel, Allison

AU - Lee, Sabine

AU - Bartels, Susan A.

N1 - Acknowledgements: Our heartfelt thanks go out to all participants for their invaluable insights and shared experiences. We extend our sincere gratitude to SOFEPADI and MARAKUJA for their vital contributions to this study. The data collection would not have been possible without the support of Laurie Webster (QES Insight). Our recognition and appreciation also extend to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) for their generous financial backing. We note the passing of Ms. Zawadi Mambo Albertine. In her role at SOFEPADI, Zawadi was relentless in her efforts to uplift women in the DRC. Her absence leaves a significant void, and without her, this study would not have been possible.

PY - 2024

Y1 - 2024

N2 - The UN’s Zero Tolerance Policy, which bans all relationships between UN staff and locals, portrays all relationships as exploitative, fails to account for nuances in these relationships and does not acknowledge the agency of local women or communities. This study uses community-based qualitative data from eastern DRC that shares narratives on a wide variety of consensual relationships between peacekeepers and local women. Our paper uses a data-driven approach, including a post-colonial feminist lens, and ideas of structural agency to provide an expanded definition of agency that invites readers to re-examine their views of women in conflict settings. Finally, we provide clear recommendations for the UN and other international non-governmental agencies on policies related to sexual exploitation and abuse.

AB - The UN’s Zero Tolerance Policy, which bans all relationships between UN staff and locals, portrays all relationships as exploitative, fails to account for nuances in these relationships and does not acknowledge the agency of local women or communities. This study uses community-based qualitative data from eastern DRC that shares narratives on a wide variety of consensual relationships between peacekeepers and local women. Our paper uses a data-driven approach, including a post-colonial feminist lens, and ideas of structural agency to provide an expanded definition of agency that invites readers to re-examine their views of women in conflict settings. Finally, we provide clear recommendations for the UN and other international non-governmental agencies on policies related to sexual exploitation and abuse.

KW - Agency

KW - Democratic Republic of Congo

KW - peacekeeping

KW - sexual exploitation

KW - sexual abuse

KW - United Nations

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85181415459&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1080/17441692.2023.2291698

DO - 10.1080/17441692.2023.2291698

M3 - Article

C2 - 38158729

SN - 1744-1692

VL - 19

JO - Global Public Health

JF - Global Public Health

IS - 1

M1 - 2291698

ER -

Petz JF, Nguya G, Nguba MB, Goebel A, Lee S, Bartels SA. ‘At the end of their relationship, that man offered her a house’: Qualitatively exploring Congolese women’s agency in navigating sexual relations with UN peacekeepers within the context of a patriarchal setting in eastern DRC. Global Public Health. 2024;19(1):2291698. Epub 2023 Dec 29. doi: 10.1080/17441692.2023.2291698