« Je marche avec les garçons » Trajectoires des jeunes vers la violence, miroir des dynamiques de genre à l’échelle de leur société ? Une analyse locale des rôles de genre et des pressions sociales en Côte d’Ivoire et au Mali

Le rapport issu de la recherche participative conduite par Interpeace et ses partenaires Indigo Côte d’Ivoire et l’Institut Malien de Recherche Action pour la Paix (IMRAP) intitulé « Au-delà de l’idéologie et de l’appât du gain : trajectoires des jeunes vers les nouvelles formes de violence en Côte d’Ivoire et au Mali» publié en 2016, a mis en lumière la manière dont la crise éducative d’une part, et la recherche de reconnaissance sociale et de nouveaux modèles de réussite, d’autre part, expliquent les trajectoires des jeunes vers des espaces alternatifs de socialisation pouvant les mener à l’utilisation de la violence.

Au cours des discussions et des débats qui ont suivi sa dissémination, plusieurs questions ont souligné les aspects liés au genre. Si les jeunes filles ne sont généralement pas considérées comme étant parmi les pourvoyeurs actifs de violence, il est important de mettre en relief leurs expériences dans ces trajectoires menant à la violence, en vue de comprendre leur niveau d’engagement et de participation. Il est aussi important de comprendre comment ces dynamiques influencent les trajectoires des jeunes filles, ainsi que le rôle joué par l’éducation dans la construction de ces trajectoires et de leurs déterminants.

Sur cette base, un processus de recherche complémentaire a été mené conjointement en Côte d’Ivoire et au Mali afin d’approfondir la compréhension des dynamiques développées dans le cadre de la recherche précédente autour de la question du genre.

Parmi les résultats clés de cette recherche, nous avons trouvé que : A). Les attentes sociales envers les jeunes, indifféremment du genre, se transforment aujourd’hui pour se centraliser de plus en plus sur leur contribution économique. En outre, plus le milieu est précaire, et plus la pression économique est précoce. B). Bien que les femmes commencent à assumer un rôle économique important, cela n’assure pas leur « émancipation. ». Toutefois, cela entraine une crise de la masculinité chez les hommes qui doivent maintenant se redéfinir et s’affirmer d’une certaine manière. C). Une autorité et un contrôle social trop stricts peuvent pousser certains jeunes, garçons comme filles, vers la marginalisation et mener certains d’entre eux à commettre ou à porter des actes de violence. Et D). Il est nécessaire de développer de nouveaux modèles de réussite pour les jeunes filles et les jeunes garçons qui ont du mal à s’identifier aux modèles mis en place par les sphères traditionnelles et communautaires, par leurs ainés ou par l’école.

Ces conclusions constituent l’amorce d’une action collective autour de la question centrale des modèles de réussite définis pour les jeunes, filles comme garçons, dans la région.

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Resulting from a participatory research conducted by Interpeace and its partners Indigo Côte d'Ivoire and the  Institut Malien de Recherche Action pour la Paix (IMRAP), the report entitled Beyond ideology and greed: trajectories of young people towards new forms of violence in Côte d'Ivoire and Mali published in 2016, highlighted how the educational crisis on the one hand, and the search for social recognition and new success models on the other, explain the trajectories of young people towards alternative spaces of socialization, which can lead to (the use of) violence. During the discussions and debates following its dissemination, several questions pointed to the issues of gender. While girls are generally not among the active providers of violence, it is important to highlight their experiences in the path to violence in order to understand their level of involvement and participation. It is also important to understand how these dynamics influence the trajectories of girls, and how education influences them.

On this basis, a complementary research process was conducted jointly in Côte d'Ivoire and Mali to deepen the understanding of the gendered dynamics based on the findings of the previous research.

Among the most important research findings, we found that: A). Society’s expectations of young people, whatever their gender, is focusing more and more on their economic contribution. In fact, the less privileged they are, the more pressure they are under to contribute. B). Though women are beginning to take on a more important economic role, this does not ensure their “emancipation”. However, it brings on a crisis of masculinity for men, who must now redefine and assert themselves in some way. C). Overly strict forms of authority and social control can push certain young people, both boys and girls, towards marginalization, and therefore lead some to carry out violent acts. And D). It is necessary to develop new success models for young boys and girls who have trouble identifying with social models set by traditional and community spheres, by their elders or by school.

These conclusions constitute the launching pad for collective action around the central question of success models set out for young people, both boys and girls, in the region.

Portraits Croisés Mopti - Analyse locale des dynamiques de conflit et de résilience dans la zone de Koro-Bankass

La région du Centre du Mali, bien que restée depuis la crise de 2012 largement en marge de la mobilisation internationale et gouvernementale – focalisée principalement sur les régions du Nord – fait depuis quelques mois l’objet d’une attention croissante. Mais certains espaces de cette région du Centre du pays commencent à inquiéter un nombre grandissant de Maliens, sans pour autant retenir l’attention nécessaire. C’est notamment le cas de la zone composée par les cercles de Koro et de Bankass, dans la région de Mopti, qui voit une multiplication d’acteurs armés actifs et d’incidents violents dans ses environs.

Face à ce constat, l’Institut Malien de Recherche Action pour la Paix (IMRAP), en partenariat avec Interpeace, ont entrepris de développer une analyse plus approfondie de la zone de Koro-Bankass, dans la région de Mopti, en tentant de comprendre les dynamiques locales structurant la conflictualité dans la zone, de même que les dynamiques de résilience.

À l’invitation du Programme pour la stabilisation et les opérations de paix du Gouvernement du Canada, cette analyse vise à accompagner les acteurs nationaux et internationaux désireux d’intervenir dans la zone. Elle entend leur permettre de le faire d’une manière plus sensible aux conflits, et d’adopter une démarche axée sur la résilience locale – et ce, qu’ils envisagent des actions visant directement à influencer et diminuer les conflits, ou simplement à mener des projets de développement de manière responsable et durable.

 

Comment combattre l’extrémisme violent sans les armes? Dépasser les idées reçues sur les déterminants de l’extrémisme violent afin d’améliorer les réponses de développement

5 décembre 2016 / 14h30 - 16h Centre International de Conférence Abdou Diouf / Salle Space Keynotes

Cet évènement est organisé par Interpeace et International Crisis Group (Crisis Group) à l'occasion du Forum Internatio-nal de Dakar sur la Paix et la Sécurité en Afrique, en partena-riat avec le Ministère français des affaires étrangères et du développement international (MAEDI), et avec la participation de l’Institut d’Etudes de Sécurité (ISS).

general info french

Beyond Ideology and Greed - Understanding new forms of violence in Côte d’Ivoire and Mali

“Being forgotten, marginalized, not considered… that’s what generates violence.” Youth from Bouaké, Côte d’Ivoire.

Over the past few years, the Sahel region has faced rising levels of violence. Since 2012, Mali has been greatly impacted by the reactivation of diverse armed groups, who claim to be inspired by a jihadist ideology. In Côte d’Ivoire, new forms of urban violence have started to emerge, despite the end of the country’s armed conflict. To cope with these crises, Interpeace’s Regional Office for West Africa, with its local partners IMRAP et un Indigo Côte d’Ivoire, conducted participatory research to understand the trajectories of young people towards new forms of violence and more specifically the role of education in these dynamics. Over the course of seven months, with the support of UNICEF, the researchers engaged with 741 people from a range of communities in Côte d’Ivoire and Mali.

banner 1 trajectories of violence

There is growing international interest and scrutiny of young people’s engagement in new forms of violence. This phenomenon is generally analyzed through lenses of radicalization and violent extremism. As the international community desperately seeks to eradicate it,  the factors often described as “structural and root causes” need to be revisited. It is widely believed that unemployment and religious ideologies are pivotal factors that contribute to radicalization and violent extremism in West Africa, but research findings show that these elements are, in fact, secondary. Contrary to common wisdom, young people do not engage in violent activities for negative reasons - against something or for violence itself. Rather, they perceive their engagement as constructive. Elements, such as young people's need to find their place in society, to be recognized and valued in their communities are of  paramount importance in explaining their engagement in violence.

“When youth doesn’t recognize itself in society’s values, it looks for landmarks elsewhere”. High level civil servant, Bamako, Mali.

Similar to research conducted in Latin America,  dynamics that push young people to join or remain in armed groups are often related to identity, opportunities for social mobility and the security of belonging that comes from being a part of a group. As a young man in the study described: “Someone who only knows how to use weapons. You dump him into the streets, what is he to become?” The research therefore identified a phenomenon of “professionalization of violence,” which describes how young people use violence as a way to gain capital, but more significantly, how they accrue social acceptance and value, through a positive recognition of the violence they perpetrate.

Photo credit: Aboubacar Traore

The study also identified that the majority of the population in both countries believes that an educational crisis and a crisis of authority are at the heart of young people's path towards violence. It is widely recognized that family, school and the community are unable to provide young people with the guidance they need. As an older man explained: “We simply raise our children instead of educating them. Because we are more worried about the food and clothes of our children, than of their education.” Therefore, for youth, joining  violent groups offers an opportunity to climb the social ladder and to build their identity and self-esteem.

The report “Beyond Ideology & Greed: Trajectories of Young People towards New Forms of Violence in Côte d’Ivoire and Mali,” has been launched in Abidjan on October 26, Bamako on November 2 and in Dakar on November 12. For  the regional launch in Dakar, Interpeace, IMRAP and Indigo, were joined by high-level UN officials from diverse agencies, including the DSRSG for the Sahel and West African region, Ms. Hiroute Guebre Sellassie. In her closing remarks, she stated: that the study “exhorts all of us to humility and to challenge received wisdom when trying to understand such complex social issues”.

Report launch in Dakar, Senegal. Photo credit: Interpeace

To learn more about this study and read the recommendations at the social, economic and educational levels, please do refer to the following links:

Full report (in French) ici.

Executive summary (in French) ici.

Executive summary (in English) ici.

Watch documentary films with the findings of this research in French and English.

Beyond Ideology and Greed - Trajectories of Young People towards New Forms of Violence in Côte d’Ivoire and Mali

Ideology or unemployment can't explain young people's engagement in new forms of violence. Unlike widely accepted ideas, Interpeace research shows these elements to be largely incidental.

Generally analyzed through the lenses of Radicalization or Violent Extremism, dynamics of young people engagement in new forms of violence is the focus of growing international scrutiny, especially in West Africa. However, as this interest grows, we realize that our current understandings doesn't allow us to fully grasp the phenomenon's complexity. Furthermore, youth in question is rarely associated to the analyses, even less so to the solutions development. Therefore, the solutions proposed can only be partial or ineffective.

These Report and Film are the result of a Participatory Research led by Interpeace, together with its partners IMRAP and Indigo Cote d'Ivoire. Supported by UNICEF, it describes how societies and dynamics surrounding young people in Mali and Cote d'Ivoire structure the trajectories of some of the latter towards violence. Ideology (namely religious) appears less like a decisive motivation, but rather as a legitimation discourse a posteriori. Likewise, unemployment and greed, although they remain of importance, are not pivotal. They are rather illustrative elements of youth need to find their place in their society, to be recognized and valued, to feel like they are contributing.

Read the Executive Summary ici and the Report (in French) ici.

Executive Summary - Beyond ideology and greed, trajectories of young people towards new forms of violence in Côte d'Ivoire and Mali