Who is Worthy of Redress: Recognizing Sexual Violence Injustice against Women of Color as Uniquely Redress-Worthy-Illuminated by a Case Study of Kenya's Mau Mau Women and Their Unique Harms

This article argues that reconciliation initiatives and redress tend to overlook the unique harms that sexual violence inflicts on women of colour. Women of colour are placed, by virtue of their race and gender, at the bottom of the social hierarchy, which makes them particularly vulnerable to sexual violence. In addition, the author claims that the unique harms they suffer as a result of sexual violence, including irreparable reproductive damage, broken relationships, economic hardships, stigma, isolation, and shame, are rendered nearly invisible by implicit intersectional bias in redress. Through an analysis of post-colonial redress efforts, British High Court rulings, and the 2013 British government's reparations settlement, this article encourages a more comprehensive form of redress that identifies multilayered, intersectional harms. The intersection of race and sexual violence forms a critical component of the redress process, and should inform the definition of harms, crimes, violations, beneficiaries, and overall implementation of policies and programs.