A Crisis after the Crisis: Postconflict Stigmatization of Boko Haram’s Sexual-Violence Victims in Northeastern Nigeria

Abstract

Abstract:Victimization and stigmatization are emerging as social rubrics against victims of Boko Haram’s sexual violence in the victims’ quest to reintegrate back into their societies. These victims were used as weapons of war, as young brides, or as sex slaves. After their release, they often experience victimization once more, this time by their communities. They are tainted as so-called Boko Haram wives and feared for assumptions that they carry with them certain ideologies, beliefs, and connotations reflective of the insurgent group. Their children (born to Boko Haram fighters) are cast off, not to be touched and not allowed to associate with other children. The processes of secondary victimization bring to light localized notions of morality and purity, sometimes in unexpected settings, such as camps for internally displaced persons.