INCM Student, Nikki Junker, Conducted Research on the Effects of Media on Survivors of Islamic State (ISIS) Captivity in Iraqi-Kurdistan

 

KENNESAW, Ga. (Aug 3, 2016) — Iraq: I recently conducted research on the effects of media on survivors of Islamic State (ISIS) captivity in Iraqi-Kurdistan. This included conducting in-person interviews with survivors of captivity, Yezidi community members and religious leaders, journalists and humanitarian aid workers. The findings of the research will allow the field of International Conflict Management to better interact with journalists and humanitarian aid organizations to provide assistance to survivors of sexual trauma and trafficking, while protecting their privacy and avoiding re-traumatization of victims. This research is an important, and under-examined, area of sex trafficking victim rehabilitation and will assist me in my doctoral dissertation on an adaptive model for sex trafficking victim rehabilitation in conflict zones.

The Hague: Over a three week period in July, I completed a training symposium held by the International Peace and Security Institute (IPSI) on Post-Conflict Transition and International Justice. The Symposium included individuals from 16 different countries and was co-hosted by the Clingendael Institute for International Relations in The Netherlands. My time in The Hague was filled with learning about international justice following conflicts including a keynote speech and dinner with Madame Fatou Bensouda, Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. In depth case studies on conflicts around the world were presented to attendees, along with experts who had worked in the field of conflict transition in those conflicts culminating in an experiential simulation.

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