JKim_thesis

Ex-Combatant Reintegration and

Post-Conflict Violence against

Women in Colombia

Jessica Kim

April 11, 2014

International Relations and Politics Honors Undergraduate Research Conference

Historical Context

• 1980s: Emergence of state-sponsored self-

defense communities, United Self-Defense

Forces of Colombia (AUC)

• 1988-2003: AUC perpetrates 64 massacres

among other indiscriminate violence

• 2003: 22 of 26 AUC blocs sign Santa Fe de

Ralito Peace Agreement

• 2003-2006: 30,400 AUC collectively entered into

Disarmament, Demobilization, and

Reintegration (DDR) programs; 55,800 total

Research Question

• Does ex-combatant reintegration increase post-

conflict violence against women?

• War-time violence Post-conflict violence

• Did municipalities that had relatively higher rates

of AUC ex-combatants experience greater

increases in violence against women over time?

Theory and Hypothesis

• Conflict violence Post-conflict

distress/violence (Annan et al. 2011; Theidon 2012)

• Qualitative findings of AUC violence on the

basis of gender (Theidon 2009; Estrada et al 2007; Coomaraswamy 2007)

• Ineffective post-conflict psychosocial support

H1: Those municipalities with relatively more demobilized

combatants will experience greater increases in violence

against women between 2005 and 2010, relative to those

municipalities with relatively fewer demobilized combatants.

Identification

• Non-random assignment: Relocation decisions

possibly influenced by municipality

characteristics also associated with violence

against women

– Social, political, and economic factors (Kaplan 2010;

Zukerman 2008)

• Differenced DVs between 2005 and 2010

– Only concern is endogeneity of AUC rates to

municipal-level changes in violence against women

5-Year Lag First-Differenced Design

Where:

• All differenced DVs multiplied by 100 to obtain percentage point

differences between 2005 and 2010

Data

• DV: Nationally-representative, individual-level

survey responses of women in Colombia

(MEASURE DHS)

– Aggregated to municipal level

– Differenced by responses in 2005 and 2010

• IV: AUC Ex-combatants per 100,000

municipality residents in 2007 (MinDefensa)

– Data limitations: AUC relocation confidentiality

• 129 observations

Covariates

• T-tests of differenced covariates across high and

low rates of AUC ex-combatants

• Covariates with significance used in regressions:

(+) Total number of children (p<.05)

(-) Partner’s education level (p<.05)

(-) Husband’s years of education (p<.10)

(-) Currently working (p<.05)

(-) Has worked in the past year (p<.10)

(-) # had sex with other than husband (p<.05)

Results: Psychological Violence


• 2 percentage points (pp) – Husband prohibits her from meeting friends (p<.10)

• 2 pp - Does not trust her with money (p<.05)

• 3 pp - Ignores her (p<.05)

• 8 pp – Respondent has final say on her own health care (p<.01)

• 1 pp - Final say on making large household purchases (p<.10)

• 4 pp - Final say on making household purchases for daily needs (p<.10)

• 5 pp - Final say on food to be cooked each day (p<.10)

• 10 of 17 DVs have no significant association with AUC presence:

– Respondent has final say on visits to family or relatives

– Accuses her of unfaithfulness

– Tries to limit her contact with family members

– Insists on knowing where she is

– Didn’t take her into consideration for family reunions

– Didn’t consult for important family decisions

– Number of control issues

– Threatened to take children away

– Threatened to withdraw economic support

– Uses expressions like: you’re good for nothing, never do anything well


• Predicted Effects:

–3 pp - Spouse ever pushed, shook, or threw

something at her (p<.05)

• Contradictory Effects:

–1 pp - Spouse ever tried to strangle or burn her

(p<.10)

–2 pp - Ever experienced any non-life threatening

violence (p<.10)

–2 pp - Ever experienced any life-threatening

violence (p<.01)

Results: Physical Violence

• 9 of 13 DVs had no significant association with AUC presence:

Respondent…– Experienced any sexual violence

– Ever physically hurt by: current boyfriend

– Ever physically hurt by: former boyfriend

Spouse…– Ever slapped or twisted her arm

– Ever punched with fist or something harmful

– Ever kicked or dragged

– Ever threatened with knife/gun or other weapon

– Ever attacked with knife/gun or other weapon

– Ever physically forced sex when not wanted


Conclusion• Higher AUC ex-combatant presence associated with

increases in less aggressive forms of violence against women between 2005-2010– DDR possibly ineffective in preventing more subtle

forms of violence

• Limitations: non-randomization– Possible unobserved factors related to both relocation

decisions and increases in violence against women

• Implications: – Understanding link between conflict and post-conflict

violence

– Tailoring DDR programs to specific forms of violence

• Future studies should utilize exact combatant resettlement locations

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