Gender, violence and cultures of silence: young women and paramilitary violence

Despite a growth in analysis of women and conflict, this has tended to overlook the specific experiences young women. Likewise, research on youth, conflict peace, term ‘youth’ is often short-hand for men. Young women’s are regularly absent from policy discourse, as consequence, also public understanding practice responses. In paper, we prioritise views forefront their one form conflict-related violence – paramilitary violence. We demonstrate that forefronting experiences, adopting an beyond which privileges physical violence, unearths multiple ways experienced. further how intersectional lens prioritises age gender can surface women, various these become silenced by cultures omit, coerce, reduce minimise.