Amnesia in the Archives: Representations of Colonial Violence and the Gendered Silence of Suffering in the Congo Reform Association’s Campaign
To mark Black History Month, in this blog - the second in a year-round dossier, Feminist Dissertating, showcasing undergraduate dissertation projects on gender and sexuality studies - Louisa Steijger analyses the Congo Reform Association’s campaign, which took place between 1904 and 1913, fought against colonial violence in the Congo Free State and was widely praised for its humanitarian advocacy. She argues that its silence on sexual violence reveals a gendered and racialised hierarchy of suffering which underpins colonial reform discourse.
