Hidden Wars

Reviews / Votes

Hidden Wars is a book I have been waiting to read. It superbly captures the power dynamics shaping the narratives of sexual and gender-based violence in conflict-affected areas of Asia, and challenges us to listen to the silences, the enormous scars inflicted on women, difficult to forget but too dangerous and painful to speak about. The book provides useful insights to remedy the politics of reporting and end impunity for the violence that has shattered too many lives. * Noeleen Heyzer, former UN Special Envoy to Myanmar and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations * In this exceptional book, Davies and True underscore that before we can understand the causes of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), we need to examine how we know who is perpetrating what form of SGBV, when, and where. Based on over 10 years of research in Burma, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka, they reveal the social and political conditions that hide SGBV. This book is an outstanding contribution to the field with important lessons for scholars, practitioners, and policymakers alike. * Robert Nagel, Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security * An important contribution on the topic of gender-based violence that highlights the structural inequalities and the 'gendered political violence' in Burma, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka. This is a unique piece of work where the authors have conducted extensive research into the different debates, captured the lived realities in the three countries, and provides the reader a useful resource into multiple issues, linkages, and challenges that require attention. * Bhavani Fonseka, Senior Researcher and Attorney at Law, Centre for Policy Alternatives, Sri Lanka * Hidden Wars makes a unique contribution to research and practice aiming to end the scourge of SGBV. By assisting us to better recognize factors that enable and constrain reporting, the book greatly improves our ability to understand SGBV. Through its analysis of three protracted conflicts in Asia, the book underlines how current efforts to prevent violence might exclude the most vulnerable. I highly recommend this book and believe that it will inform our discussions in the years to come. * Louise Olsson, Research Director, Peace Research Institute Oslo * The authors duly acknowledge that there are few easy solutions either to the violence or to the inadequate reporting of it. Recommended. Graduate students, faculty, and professionals. * Choice *