Date of Conferral

2023

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Criminal Justice

Advisor

Evaristus E. Obinyan

Abstract

AbstractStudies have been conducted on the sexual offending of the local population by peacekeepers, but few have been conducted on the lived experience of professionals providing support and assistance to these victims. This qualitative phenomenological study was conducted to explore the lived experiences of experts providing support and assistance to victims of sex offenses committed in the Central African Republic by international military peacekeepers. The classical deterrence and retributive justice theories guided the study. Participants were recruited through snowball sampling and data collected through face-to- face interviews and analyzed using the Modified Van Kaam method. Two research questions were used to explore the professionals’ lived experiences in supporting sex victims and the essence they make of those experiences. The study findings were analyzed and interpreted with some findings aligning with the study theoretical framework and existing literature while others were new and helped in advancing and strengthening the existing literature. The findings of the study revolved around the vulnerability and powerlessness of the victim and the desire for increase justice, and education aimed at empowering them. The study may help various peacekeeping stakeholders in effecting positive social change through reformulating peacekeeping policies that would address sexual offending by peacekeepers as well as protective measures for the vulnerable local population.

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