Public talk to consider children born of wartime sexual violence

“Hidden in Plain Sight: Children Born of Wartime Sexual Violence” will be presented by Kimberly Theidon, Ph.D., of Tufts University at 4 p.m. Feb. 20 in Hale 230 at CU-Boulder. A reception follows the talk, which is open to the public.

Over the past decade, there has been increased international attention to conflict-related rape and sexual violence. A series of UN Security Council Resolutions – collectively known as the Women, Peace and Security agenda – have overwhelmingly focused on women and girls as victims of sexual violence. Strikingly absent in this agenda are two groups: men and boys as victims of sexual violence, and children born as a result of wartime rape. What do we know about these children?

During the last decade alone, it is estimated that tens of thousands of children have been born worldwide as a result of mass rape campaigns or wartime sexual exploitation.  What about these living legacies of rape and sexual violence? Although children born of wartime rape have remained largely invisible on the international agenda, empirical data indicates they are not so invisible in the families and communities in which they live. At the local level, these children are likely to be hidden in plain sight.

The event is sponsored by the Department of Anthropology, the Latin American Studies Center, the Graduate Committee on the Arts and Humanities, and the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research. Questions: Contact alison.hanson@colorado.edu.