Centering Women’s Experiences in Gender-Sensitive Reparations
Women faced distinct forms of harm during the past regime that demand respectful, tailored remedies. A detailed look at consultations designed to guarantee equal leadership in reparations delivery.
Post-TRRC Unit · Ministry of Justice, The Gambia
The Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission documented that human rights violations affect men and women differently. Women frequently bore the brunt of secondary harm: sudden economic destitution after husbands or sons were disappeared, stigmatization from sexual and gender-based violence, and the burden of sole caregiving for disabled survivors.
Standard compensation models that prioritize formal wage loss often disadvantage women whose informal labor, agricultural production, and family caregiving were disrupted. Our gender-sensitive reparations approach recognizes these structural inequalities.
Through dedicated townhall caucuses conducted by female facilitators, women survivors have voiced their priorities: educational scholarships for surviving children, microfinance seed capital for cooperative businesses, and specialized maternal and reproductive healthcare.
Centering gender equity is not an optional embellishment; it is a fundamental requirement of just and non-discriminatory redress. When women heal and achieve economic autonomy, whole communities recover.
