The Continuum of Direct and Structural Violence in (Transformative) Transitional Justice: Photovoices from Colombia

ABSTRACT The transitional justice field and the transformative justice proposal, which pushes transitional justice to be more emancipatory, have not sufficiently addressed methodological and epistemological issues. I argue here that a more transformative transitional justice needs to include more transformative methods of enquiry. I draw on two key findings from two photovoice projects I carried out in Cauca, Colombia, to support that argument. First, that there is a continuum of direct and structural violence that needs to be tackled in full by transitional justice to be more transformative. Second, that the continuum of gender-based violence needs to be equally addressed in its full extension, including issues of distributive justice and care. These findings challenge assumptions of the paradigmatic transitional justice scholarship, but also assumptions of the transformative justice proposal.