This research report was commissioned by Trócaire and Oxfam as part of the Durable Peace Programme Consortium. It brings together the voices, and memories of conflict of internally displaced women in Kachin State,1 as well as their hopes and priorities for peace. In this research, female participants from 12 different camps in both government-controlled areas (GCA) and KIO-controlled/non-government controlled areas(KCA/NGCA)2 openly share their feelings and needs. The women explicitly requested to be heard.

This qualitative study provides an overview of the contextual situation of the Kachin conflict since 2011, and highlights the importance of women’s inclusion in the Myanmar peace process, within the framework of the international and national policies on gender equality and women’s rights.

The research team focused attention on women categorised as ‘internally displaced persons’ (IDPs) as a group that, so far, has been neglected in studies, policies and actions related to the Kachin conflict. We elaborated the specifics of the conflict-related experiences that internally displaced women in Kachin have faced in the years since the conflict resumed in 2011, and the challenges they deal with in their daily lives. We hope to contribute to an in-depth understanding of these women’s diverse experiences of conflict and their related needs.

Download full report HERE.