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Knowledge Hub

Open Access Publications

Welcome to the Knowledge Hub for the RESPONDER project. This collection brings together open-source academic articles and research papers on the topic of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA) within the humanitarian and peacekeeping sectors. These works deepen understanding of power dynamics, accountability mechanisms, and the lived experiences of affected communities, offering evidence‑based insight into how SEA emerges and how responses can be strengthened. Explore the articles to deepen knowledge in this area and connect with the wider research landscape shaping this field.

Mother and Child

UNsupported: The Needs and Rights of Children Fathered by UN Peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo.


Kirstin Wagner, Susan A. Bartels, Sanne Weber, Sabine Lee

Peacekeeper-fathered children;

DRC; UN peacekeepers

Why read? To understand how UN peacekeeping failures directly affect children born of sexual exploitation and abuse, and why current accountability systems leave mothers and PKFC families without support. This article offers rare, first hand insight from affected families in eastern DRC, exposes the barriers they face in seeking paternity recognition and assistance, and provides concrete...

Mother and Child

Born between war and peace: Situating peacekeeper-fathered children in research on children born of war.

Kirstin Wagner, Heather Tasker, Luissa Vahedi, Susan A. Bartels, Sabine Lee

 

 

Peacekeeper-fathered children; DRC; Haiti; CBOW; PKFC; peacekeepers

Why read? To understand why peacekeeper‑fathered children should be recognised as children born of war, and how their lives closely mirror the exclusion, stigma and developmental hardship experienced by other CBOW groups. Drawing on thousands of community micro‑narratives and interviews from Haiti and the DRC, this article provides rare empirical evidence showing shared vulnerabilities and...

Mother and Child

A cross-sectional study of community perceptions of stigmatization amongst women affected by UN-peacekeeper perpetrated sexual exploitation and abuse

Gray, Susan A. Bartels, Sabine Lee, Heather Stuart

DRC; peacekeepers;

Why read? To understand how exposure to peacekeeper‑perpetrated sexual exploitation and abuse shapes the stigma women and girls face in eastern DRC. This study uses large‑scale community data to show that higher levels of SEA are strongly linked to diminished social status and inadequate institutional support, revealing both public and structural stigma.

Mother and Child

Peacekeeper-perpetrated sexual exploitation and abuse in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Legal pluralism and legal recession

Heather Tasker, Annie Bunting, Susan A. Bartels

DRC; legal; peacekeepers

Why read? To understand how survivors of peacekeeper‑perpetrated sexual exploitation and abuse in the DRC attempt to navigate a complex, overlapping legal landscape in search of justice. This article shows how multiple jurisdictions, UN‑specific procedures and state systems create barriers that not only obstruct accountability but actively erode it.

Mother and Child

"If I was with my father such discrimination wouldn't exist, I could be happy like other people": a qualitative analysis of stigma among peacekeeper fathered children in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Kirstin Wagner, Heide Glaesmer, Susan A. Bartels, Sabine Lee

DRC; stigma; peacekeepers; PKFC; peacekeeper-fathered children; MONUSCO

Why read? To understand how stigma shapes the lives of mothers and children fathered by UN peacekeepers in the DRC, and why these harms persist across generations. Drawing on in‑depth interviews, this study reveals how mixed ethnicity, fatherlessness, economic deprivation and social rejection combine to marginalise PKFC and their mothers.It shows how stigma is transmitted within...

Mother and Child

'At the end of their relationship, that man offered her a house': Qualitatively exploring Congolese women's agency in navigating sexual relations with UN peacekeepers within the context of a patriarchal setting in eastern DRC

Jessica F. Petz, Gloria Nguya, Martin Baguma Nguba, Allison Goebel, Sabine Lee, Susan A. Bartels

DRC; women’s agency; peacekeepers; patriarchy

Why read? To understand how community narratives in eastern DRC challenge the UN’s Zero Tolerance Policy by revealing a wide spectrum of sexual relationships between peacekeepers and local women. Using qualitative, community‑generated data and a post‑colonial feminist lens, the study shows that women’s agency is shaped by structural inequality, economic need and gendered power, not erased by it.

Mother and Child

​“White Child Gone Bankrupt”: The Intersection of Race and Poverty in
Youth Fathered by UN Peacekeepers.

Kirstin Wagner, Susan A. Bartels, Sanne Weber, Sabine Lee

 

Race; Poverty; Peacekeeper-fathered children; PKFC; peacekeepers

Why read? To understand how race and poverty intersect to shape the lives of children fathered and abandoned by UN peacekeepers in the DRC. This study reveals how biracial identity creates expectations of privilege that sharply clash with the extreme deprivation most PKFC face, amplifying stigma and social disadvantage. Drawing on interviews with PKFC and their mothers, the article shows.

Mother and Child

Presence of the Absent Father: Perceptions of Family among Peacekeeper-Fathered Children in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Kirstin Wagner, Heide Glaesmer, Susan A. Bartels, Sanne Weber, Sabine Lee

Peacekeeper-fathered children; DRC; PKFC; poverty; peacekeepers; 

Why read? To understand how the absence of peacekeeper fathers shapes the identities and family relationships of the children they leave behind in the DRC. This study offers rare insight from PKFC themselves, revealing how lacking paternal knowledge deepens poverty, disrupts cultural belonging and creates a painful gap between their ideals of family and lived experience. It shows how imagined...

Mother and Child

'Even peacekeepers expect something in return': A qualitative analysis of sexual interactions between UN peacekeepers and female Haitians

Luissa Vahedi, Susan A. Bartels, Sabine Lee

Haiti; peacekeepers; transactional sex; sexual relations; women; MINUSTAH

Why read? To understand how Haitian women describe sexual interactions with MINUSTAH peacekeepers in ways far more complex than the UN’s zero‑tolerance policy allows. Interviews show relationships ranged from sexual violence to transactional sex to long‑term arrangements framed as love, all shaped by poverty and unequal power.

Mother and Child

Troubling masculinities: a feminist, relational approach to researching sexual exploitation and abuse by peacekeepers

Jasmine Kim-Westerndorft

Peacekeepers

Why read? To understand how a feminist, relational interviewing approach can transform research on peacekeeper‑perpetrated sexual exploitation and abuse. This article shows how collaborative, dialogic methods create space for local interlocutors to shape analysis, revealing tensions between institutional narratives and community...

Mother and Child

Gender-Stratified Analysis of Haitian Perceptions Related to Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Perpetrated by UN Peacekeepers during MINUSTAH

Luissa Vahedi, Heather Stuart, Stéphanie Etienne, Sabine Lee, Susan A. Bartels

Haiti; gender differences; SEA; UN peacekeepers; MINUSTAH; community perceptions;

Why read? To understand how gender shapes Haitian community perceptions of peacekeeper‑perpetrated SEA. Using SenseMaker data, the study shows women and girls more often interpret sexual interactions as “relationships” and view peacekeepers as supportive, while men and boys tend to see peacekeepers as authoritative.

Mother and Child

The Distribution and Consequences of Sexual Misconduct Perpetrated by Peacekeepers in Haiti: An Exploratory Cross-Sectional Analysis

Luissa Vahedi, Heather Stuart, Stéphanie Etienne, Sabine Lee, Susan A. Bartels

Haiti; peacekeepers; sexual misconduct; SEA; prevalence; consequences; MINUSTAH

Why read? To understand how Haitians perceive and respond to peacekeeper‑perpetrated sexual misconduct across different regions. Using over 2,500 community narratives, the study finds SEA stories were more common in rural areas and that personal experiences of misconduct strongly predicted rejection of MINUSTAH.

Mother and Child

Human Trafficking in Conflict Zones: The Role of Peacekeepers in the Formation of Networks.

Charles Anthony Smith & Brandon Miller-de la Cuesta​​​
 

Human trafficking; conflict zones; PKFC; Peacekeeper-fathered children; peacekeepers; 

Why read? To understand how race and poverty intersect to shape the lives of children fathered and abandoned by UN peacekeepers in the DRC. This study reveals how biracial identity creates expectations of privilege that sharply clash with the extreme deprivation most PKFC face, amplifying stigma and social disadvantage. Drawing on interviews with PKFC and their mothers, the article shows how cultural...

Mother and Child

Engaging refugee women and girls as experts: co-creating evidence on sexual exploitation and abuse in humanitarian crises using creative, participatory methods

Alina Potts, Loujine Fattal, Harriet Kolli

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Refugees; Uganda; Lebanon; Syria; South Sudan; humanitarian aid

Why read? To see how refugee women and girls can reshape humanitarian research when treated as experts rather than subjects. This study shows how participatory, creative methods - used in Uganda and Lebanon - allow Syrian and South Sudanese co‑researchers to document sexual exploitation and abuse risks in their own communities and propose safer aid practices. It demonstrates that sharing...

Mother and Child

'They Were Going to the Beach, Acting like Tourists, Drinking, Chasing Girls': A Mixed-Methods Study on Community Perceptions of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse by UN Peacekeepers in Haiti

 

Carla King, Sabine Lee, Susan A. Bartels

Peacekeepers; MINUSTAH; Haiti; 

Why read? To understand how Haitian communities interpreted MINUSTAH’s sexual interactions with local women and girls, and why these perceptions undermine the mission’s legitimacy. This mixed‑methods study reveals three dominant narratives - peacekeepers as tourists, as sexual exploiters, and as ideal partners- and shows how such views complicate trust in UN operations.

Mother and Child

'It's Not a Gift When It Comes with Price': A Qualitative Study of Transactional Sex between UN Peacekeepers and Haitian Citizens

Athena Rebecca Kolbe

Peacekeeper-fathered children; DRC; UN peacekeepers

Why read? To understand the lived dynamics of transactional sex between Haitian civilians and UN peacekeepers, and why SEA persists despite formal prohibitions and training. This article draws on interviews with Haitians who engaged in transactional relationships with peacekeepers, revealing how economic need, social norms and unequal power shaped these encounters.

Mother and Child

Proactive and reactive responses to pregnancies resulting from sexual exploitation and abuse: an ecological model based on Haitian survivors' experiences

Luissa Vahedi, Sabine Lee, Susan A. Bartels

Haiti; sexual exploitation and abuse; pregnancy; survivors; peacekeepers;

Why read? To understand how Haitian mothers of peacekeeper‑fathered children navigate a justice system that rarely delivers support. Based on interviews across Haiti, the study shows women were discouraged from reporting, told nothing could be done once peacekeepers left, and often faced broken promises and disclosure fatigue.

Mother and Child

'MINUSTAH is doing positive things just as they do negative things': nuanced perceptions of a UN peacekeeping operation amidst peacekeeper-perpetrated sexual exploitation and abuse in Haiti​

Carla King, Greg Ferraro, Sandra C. Wisner, Stéphanie Etienne, Sabine Lee, Susan A. Bartels

MINUSTAH; Haiti; peacekeepers; 

Why read? To understand how Haitian communities perceived MINUSTAH’s presence beyond its security mandate, and why allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse continue to shape public trust. This study reveals the stark contrast between the mission’s stabilisation efforts and local expectations of justice, accountability and transparency. Drawing on community data from across Haiti, it shows how....

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