Towards intimate geographies of peace? Local reconciliation of domestic violence in Cambodia

This paper addresses the dearth of writing in geography on domestic violence and its misplaced absenteeism in dialogues on geographies of war and peace. It challenges a preoccupation with (inter)-national landscapes of war and militarism through its focus on the (im)possibilities of (liberal) peace within the home. The paper attends to the everyday politics of efforts to reduce spousal violence via local reconciliation - a customary practice of conflict resolution that has attracted criticism from the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. On the basis of 120 interviews and a quantitative household survey in two provinces of Cambodia (2012-2014), the paper argues that political economy considerations are crucial to understanding the path and outcome of various domestic violence interventions. By analysing the situated beliefs and experiences of domestic violence victims, legal professionals, NGO workers, police officers and other authority leaders, it also stresses the importance of questioning what peace equates to for different stakeholders. The research shows a strong moralistic commitment to harmony' and the unyielding continuity of the marital unit by national and local government machinery intent on securing its own intimate security through local reconciliation. For many women who suffer abuse, and for legal professionals in particular, local reconciliation represents, by contrast, an ambiguous departure from intimate war to peace that can lead to the detriment rather than betterment of victims' lives. Its continued use contravenes the country's 2005 domestic violence law in severe' cases and belies the promise of justice. Exposing and responding to the cultural ideals and norms promulgated, as well as the political and material realities operative, geographers have a greater role and responsibility to play in producing research that examines the multi-scalar connections between these dynamics and the vested interests of their various interlocutors who have the potential to render peace putative.

本文探讨了地理学领域关于家庭暴力研究的匮乏，以及它在战争与和平的地理学讨论中不恰当的缺失。它通过关注家庭内部（自由）和平的（不）可能性，对专注于（国际间）战争和军国主义的景象提出了质疑。本文关注通过地方和解来减少配偶暴力的日常政治努力——这种解决冲突的习俗做法受到了联合国消除对妇女歧视委员会的批评。基于在柬埔寨两个省份进行的120次访谈和一项家庭定量调查（2012 - 2014年），本文认为政治经济因素对于理解各种家庭暴力干预措施的路径和结果至关重要。通过分析家庭暴力受害者、法律专业人员、非政府组织工作人员、警察和其他权威领导人的特定信念和经历，它还强调了质疑和平对不同利益相关者意味着什么的重要性。研究表明，国家和地方政府机构出于通过地方和解确保自身内部安全的意图，对“和谐”有着强烈的道德承诺，并坚决维持婚姻单元的延续。相比之下，对于许多遭受虐待的妇女，尤其是法律专业人员来说，地方和解代表着从亲密战争到和平的一种模糊转变，这可能会损害而非改善受害者的生活。在“严重”情况下，它的持续使用违反了该国2005年的家庭暴力法，也违背了正义的承诺。地理学家在揭示和回应所宣扬的文化理想和规范以及实际运作的政治和物质现实方面，在开展研究以审视这些动态与各种对话者的既得利益之间的多尺度联系方面，肩负着更大的作用和责任，这些对话者有可能使和平成为假定的状态。