Abstract
The concept of transitional justice has been associated with the periods of political change when a country emerges from a war or turmoil and attempts to address the wrongdoings of the past. Among various instruments of transitional justice, truth commissions stand out as an example of a non-judicial form of addressing the crimes of the past. While their setup and operation can be criticized on different grounds, including excessive politization of hearings and the virtual impossibility of meaningfully assessing their impact, it has been widely acknowledged in the literature that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa can be regarded as a success story due to its relatively strong mandate and widespread coverage and resonance it had in South African society. We would like to compare this commission from the 1990s with a more recent example, the Brazilian National Truth Commission, so as to be able to address the question of incorporation of gendered aspects in transitional justice (including examination of sexual violence cases, representation of women in truth-telling bodies, etc.), since gender often remains an overlooked and silenced aspect in such initiatives. Gendered narratives of transitional justice often do not fit into the wider narratives of post-war reconciliation. A more general question addressed in this research is whether the lack of formal procedure in truth commissions facilitates or hinders examination of sexual crimes in transitional settings.
Highlights
The concept of transitional justice has been associated with the periods of political change when a country emerges from a war or turmoil and attempts to address the wrongdoings of the past
Among various instruments of transitional justice, truth commissions stand out as an example of a non-judicial form of addressing the crimes of the past. While their setup and operation can be criticized on different grounds, including excessive politization of hearings and the virtual impossibility of meaningfully assessing their impact, it has been widely acknowledged in the literature that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa can be regarded as a success story due to its relatively strong mandate and widespread coverage and resonance it had in South African society
Lambourne and Rodriguez Carreon warn, that short-term transitional measures are not enough to address the complexity of the customary, cultural, social, political and other forces that put women at a disadvantage in society, and they conclude that it is necessary to complement existing judicial and non-judicial mechanisms with other initiatives, for instance, legislative reforms that would alter the discriminatory status of women
Summary
The question of the gender dimension of transitional justice remains a relatively unexplored area. Lambourne and Rodriguez Carreon warn, that short-term transitional measures are not enough to address the complexity of the customary, cultural, social, political and other forces that put women at a disadvantage in society (for instance, women might continue to live in extreme poverty, have little access to education and training, become victims of domestic violence, etc.), and they conclude that it is necessary to complement existing judicial and non-judicial mechanisms with other initiatives, for instance, legislative reforms that would alter the discriminatory status of women (for instance, in inheritance or land rights) An important point they raise is that very often violence against women can take many forms. In the context of post-conflict traumas, the ways in which gender is understood and (re) interpreted in public settings influence the future of state institutions and the societal structures more generally It has been noted in the literature that in cases when appropriate mechanisms are not in place (such as in camera hearings), speaking publicly about sexual crimes might be in itself a traumatizing experience that would discourage victims from coming forward. This multitude of identities, including gender, color and social class, must be taken into account in the layout of truth-telling initiatives
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