Last On the List: The Protection of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in Timor-Leste’s Transitional Justice Process

Abstract

ABSTRACT Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) have been insufficiently addressed in transitional justice literature. Based on findings collected during extensive fieldwork in Timor-Leste, this article contributes to the emerging field by offering insights into how women’s SRHR were taken into account by the trials and the truth commission implemented after the conflict. The article reveals the barriers women encountered in accessing these transitional justice mechanisms, while drawing on examples from other jurisdictions to show the systematic underreporting and the neglect of these rights in a global context. The article contributes to the evaluation and analysis of the impact of transitional justice, but also highlights an area of violence against women that has been neglected in post-conflict environments and the importance of fieldwork in framing human rights discourses.