Intervict

This article examines how victimhood is constructed on a daily basis in postconflict Peru. It seeks to advance the empirical study of the politics of victimhood and analyzes how external modes of identification of Peruvian victim-survivors influence the selfidentification processes and the collective action strategies of organized victimsurvivors. The article shows that the uses of the notion of victimhood influence the degree to which victim-survivors receive legal, political and social recognition, as well as the degree to which their role as active citizens with an ability to vocalize and represent their claims is accepted. The overall argument is that deconstructing the side effects of transitional justice interventions on relationships between social organizations is important for enhancing understanding of the possibilities and constraints of civil society organizations to raise awareness regarding human rights violations. KEYWORDS: semantics of victimhood, politics of victimhood, victim organizations, vernacularization, Peru

De Waardt discusses associations of victims of the 1980s violent conflict in Peru, which she relates to the Peruvian cultural tradition of grassroots organizations. She conveys the substantial existence of victim-survivor associations, the social support its members find amongst each other, and the degree of collective survival strategies people develop. Nevertheless, implementation of policies addressing victim status and participation by these associations in political decisions on victim-related issues is not taken for granted. De Waardt analyzes how the context in which victimhood is presented determines the socio-political emergence and acceptance of such associations.

Literature on transitional justice and victimology show an interest in how courts and laws define victimhood and how such definitions shape victim participation, with hierarchies of suffering as the result. In this chapter, I move beyond the legalistic perspective on the politics of victimhood. I question how organised victims construct victimhood for political and social purposes. I demonstrate that organised victims in Peru constructed a sense of similarity and difference by means of a categorical repertoire based on single victim categories, and by means of an organisational repertoire based on generational issues. I conclude that the inclusion of relationships between social organisations as integrated elements into transitional justice research is important for enhancing the understanding of the successes of civil society and transitional justice mechanisms.

Transitional justice measures, particularly reparations, have started to address housing, land and property (HLP) issues in relation to internally displaced persons (IDPs), but HLP grievances have not decreased. Because it is difficult to meaningfully engage IDPs in reparations and redress, contextualized approaches are suggested for remedies to become effective. We propose a lens of social identity theory (SIT) to illuminate the potential for HLP attempts for redress to be expanded to groups in intractable conflict. Based on research in Cyprus, we argue that SIT enables the scrutiny of whether and how legal decisions and administrative remedy mechanisms meaningfully relate to IDPs’ notions of victimhood and (in)justice. We show that attempts for redress may act to maintain competitive narratives and exclusionary social identities in Cyprus. An inclusive victimhood narrative may shift categories available for an intergroup social identity for Cypriots, making it more likely for actu...

This article examines how features of international development cooperation are reproduced within international networks of stakeholders in transitional justice (TJ) processes aimed at seeking redress for victims of mass atrocities. To answer this question, the authors analyze interactions between survivors of the Peruvian internal armed conflict and (inter)national development and human rights NGOs involved in the TJ process. The article identifies four features of international development cooperation and scrutinizes the respective ways in which they challenge the reciprocal linkages between NGOs and victim-groups in post-conflict settings: asymmetrical relationships, ephemeral agenda-setting processes, paternalism, and socio-geographical concentration of development interventions. We show how these four features influence representations of victimhood as well as the extent to which survivors can formulate their demands and priorities.

Research on the (promised) effects of transitional justice efforts on victims of civil conflicts remains rare. This article seeks to advance the field of research in two ways. First, this article focuses on how Peruvian victimhood became politicized as a consequence of a promised transitional justice mechanism: the Peruvian reparation program. Second, by highlighting the diverse motivations of members of grassroots victims’ organizations, it brings to the fore important lessons on the successes and challenges of this transitional justice mechanism.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the effect of fall-related con- cerns on physical, mental, and social function.
DESIGN: Community-based prospective cohort study (sec- ondary analysis using control group data from a random- ized controlled trial).
SETTING: Two municipalities in the south of the Nether- lands.
PARTICIPANTS: Community-dwellingolderadults(N =260). MEASUREMENTS: Two groups were created using Mod- ified Falls Efficacy Scale scores (high and low levels of fall- related concerns). Five outcome measures representing physical, mental, and social function were included: activi- ties of daily living (ADLs), symptoms of depression, feel- ings of anxiety, social participation, and social support interactions. Outcomes were measured at baseline and at 2, 8, and 14 months. Data were analyzed using analysis of covariance and mixed-effect regression models for longitu- dinal data, adjusting for age, sex, living status (alone or with another person), educational level, cognitive status, self-perceived health, and falls history at baseline. RESULTS: At baseline, significantly more limitations in ADLs and social participation were found for older per- sons with high levels of fall-related concerns than for those with low levels of concern. These differences persisted over 14 months of follow-up and were consistent over time. No significant differences were found for symptoms of depres- sion, feelings of anxiety, or social support interactions, except for feelings of anxiety at 14 months. CONCLUSION: Older persons with higher levels of fall- related concerns reported up to 14 months poorer ADL and social participation for up to 14 months than those with lower levels of fall-related concerns. From a clinical point of view, the clear relationship between fall-related concerns and ADL dysfunction and social participation may help to target groups who are at risk of developing adverse consequences of concerns about falls.

Psychological resilience is considered an important predictor for mental health disturbances among rescue workers. To what extent resilience predicts mental health disturbances among police officers at different stages while adjusting for existing (mental) health disturbances is unclear. Among 566 police officers resilience was operationalized by the Resilience Scale-nl and the Mental Toughness Questionnaire-48 questionnaires (8 scales in total). Mental health disturbances (such as depression symptoms and PTSD) and other health-related variables were assessed at baseline and follow-ups at three and nine months. Hierarchical logistic regression analyses assessed the predictive values of the 8 resilience scales for mental health disturbances at baseline (n = 566), three months (n = 566) and nine months (n = 364), adjusted for demographics, work circumstances, and health-related factors at baseline. Seven of the eight resilience scales at baseline were cross sectional associated with m...

Examine to what extent adults affected by recent potentially traumatic events (PTE) with different PTSD-symptom levels are more at risk for post-event loneliness than non-affected adults are in the same study period. We extracted data from the Dutch longitudinal LISS panel to measure pre-event loneliness (2011) and post-event loneliness (2013 and 2014), pre-event mental health problems (2011), PTE and PTSD symptoms (2012). This panel is based on a traditional random sample drawn from the population register by Statistics Netherlands. Results of the multinomial logistic regression analyses showed that affected adults with high levels of PTSD symptoms were more at risk for high levels of post-event loneliness than affected adults with very low PTSD-symptom levels and non-affected adults, while controlling for pre-event loneliness, pre-event mental health problems and demographics. However, affected adults with very low levels of PTSD symptoms compared to non-affected adults were less ...