CHALLENGING THE ‘IDEAL VICTIM’
Drawing on qualitative research conducted in Mexico as part of our project within the Jesuit University System (SUJ), this article analyses how victims actively reject condition of passive victimhood. By reclaiming their grief,they become politicised ‘victim-agents’ who contribute to peacebuilding from the grassroots level.
Introduction: The Construct of the “Ideal Victim” A persistent yet often unexamined prejudice underlies many conflicts: the expectation that victims of violence remain passive, submissive, and incapacitated. In contexts marked by severe security crises and systemic impunity, such as Mexico, both public discourse and state institutions reinforce the archetype of the ‘ideal victim.’
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