This page was created by Sarah York-Bertram.

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"Ododo Wa" Community Dialogues YouTube: "Advocating for Justice and Reparations in Uganda" Video: This is an annotated YouTube video documenting a discussion panel in which Evelyn Amony, Grace Acan, and Isabelle Masson discuss the exhibit and advocating for justice and reparations in Uganda. The panel was held 24 October 2019 at the Moot Courtroom of Robson Hall, Faculty of Law building at the University of Manitoba

The Characteristics of a Survivor-Centred Approach to Sexual Violence in Conflict According to Resolution 2467

On April 23, 2019, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2467, which prioritizes a survivor-centred approach to the prevention of and response to sexual violence in conflict.

It re-enforces the earlier Resolution 2106, which calls for comprehensive healthcare, including reproductive healthcare, for survivors of sexual violence in conflict. Resolution 2467 also acknowledges structural gender inequality and discrimination as the root cause of sexual violence. This resolution also affirms the necessity of women's empowerment and participation in post-conflict peace work as the only viable route to sustainable peace and security.

Resolution 2467's aim is to end sexual violence in conflict by:

using the United Nations Security Council's existing mechanisms, such as sanctions and other targeted measures;
strengthening prevention through justice and accountability;
employing survivor-centred approaches to addressing the needs of affected communities.

As the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict writes, "We must convert a centuries-old culture of impunity into a culture of accountability." To do so, survivors must be the centre of local and international efforts, including all UN peace-making, peace-keeping, and peace-building initiatives, security and justice reform, and in negotiations of peace agreements and ceasefire verification mechanisms.

The Resolution calls for a holistic understanding of justice and accountability, including provisions for reparations and livelihood support to enable survivors to rebuild their lives and support their families, including children born in conflict. Centring survivors in responses to sexual violence in conflict helps to prevent future conflict, as children born in conflict are vulnerable to recruitment and radicalization by armed groups. It also recognizes the necessity of supporting civil society actors on the frontlines of conflicts.

Source: Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict. (2019, April 29). Landmark UN Security Council Resolution 2467 (2019) strengthens justice and accountability and calls for a survivor-centered approach in the prevention and response to conflict-related sexual violence. https://www.un.org/sexualviolenceinconflict/press-release/landmark-un-security-council-resolution-2467-2019-strengthens-justice-and-accountability-and-calls-for-a-survivor-centered-approach-in-the-prevention-and-response-to-conflict-related-sexual-violence/.

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Survivor-Centred Approaches
The Ododo Wa exhibit is a survivor centred approach to advocacy. YorkU’s yFile places the exhibit within the context of United Nations Security Council’s adoption of Resolution 2467 on 23 April 2019. This resolution “articulates a survivor-centred approach to the prevention and response to conflict-related sexual violence.”
In this YouTube video annotation on the left, Grace Acan defines survivor-centred justice for war-affected women.

The arts magazine GalleriesWest places the exhibit in relation to the Nobel Peace Prize winners Dr. Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad. Mukwege and Murad are known for their efforts against the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war. The University of Manitoba’s news represents the exhibit in the context of Uganda’s transitional justice policy of June 2019. News media shows the exhibit is timely and the dialogues in inspires as necessary.

The curatorial approach to making the exhibit is also based on a survivor-centred approach. CMHR curator Isabelle Masson acknowledges that for activists organizing around issues of sexual violence in war, it is important to minimize risks of re-traumatization or even further traumatization (Bitu Tshikudi, 2019). For these reasons, the exhibit aims to establish a sustainable and supportive storytelling process. Survivor-centred storytelling necessitates an environment that focuses on their needs, their voices, and honours their leadership in defining justice and reparations.

Tensions about narrative ownership also emerge in response to the exhibit. As Masson reflects on the Uganda National Museum event in December 2019, one audience member asked “Why do we need Canadians to tell our stories?” (Masson, 2020). Canadian journalists and artists assert that it is difficult to “imagine” what Acan and Amony went through (Alfa, 2019; Ikemiya, 2019). In some cases, Canadian journalists asked, “What can Canadians do to help?” (Bitu Tshikudi, 2019).

In response, Acan, Amony and those involved with making the exhibit assert that Canadians can help by a) listening to survivors, b) paying attention to survivors’ leadership in regards to their needs, and c) seeing how one can help, as directed by survivors, “at this moment” (Masson in Bitu Tshikudi, 2019). The exhibit functions as an example of survivor's activism that holds opportunities for survivor-centred knowledge mobilization, learning, pedagogy, dialogue, and justice.