The women formerly abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in northern Uganda find that achieving meaningful reintegration into their communities is a distant prospect despite being the home culture they once shared. The stigmatisation of formerly abducted persons by the home community members who have never been abducted renders them ‘outsiders’ upon return to their home communities. Meaningful relationships with fellow community members and access to cultural, social and economic systems are hampered by stigma about the women’s traumatic past episode as abductees.
This research included interviews with formerly abducted women in the Acholi region. The study describes the importance of meaningful relationships with fellow community members. Women’s access to cultural, social and economic systems is hampered, however, by stigma because of being formerly abducted.
