Video of Global Summit panel on former girl soldiers

On 11 June, Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice hosted a panel titled ‘From LRA abductees to gender justice advocates’ at the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, held in London from 10-13 June. The panel featured two young women who were formerly abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), Esther Atim and Sunday Lanyero, who shared their stories of capture and ultimate escape from the militia group.

This video features Esther Atim, former LRA abductee now a gender justice advocate with Greater North Women’s Voices for Peace Network, a partner organization of the Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice. Ms Atim describes her experiences during the years she was captured by the LRA, the challenges she now faces in rebuilding her life within her community and her advocacy for abductees and child soldiers.

The panel was moderated by Brigid Inder, Executive Director of Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice, with three speakers, Esther Atim, former abductee now gender justice advocate with GNWVPN, Sunday Lanyero, former abductee now gender justice advocate with GNWVPN, and Jane Akwero, Programme Officer Uganda, Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice. On the panel, Ms Akwero addressed the progress and challenges in integrating women victims/survivors of the LRA conflict as stakeholders and beneficiaries in the post-conflict recovery and reconstruction process.

Angelina Jolie, Special Envoy for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and William Hague, the UK Foreign Secretary, co-chairs of the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, attended some of the panel.

Watch the video here.