Liberia: Life Can Change - Section Summary

In the section “Liberia: Life Can Change” of “War Is Not Over When It’s Over”, Ann Jones shows the power of facilitating Liberian women’s ability to define and find solutions to their collective problems, centered around violence in supposed times of ‘peace’. Jones shows how much of Liberia’s contemporary history is characterized by violence towards women, exemplified by the findings that 75% of women refugees from Liberia report being sexually assaulted. Jones details her work through the International Rescue Committee by partnering with local Women’s Action Groups to select Liberian women to be photographers in their communities. These women had “survived the violence of war, and the violence of the peace that followed, when everything was changed; but they worried about the young girls” (Jones, 2010, p. 85). Through this form of community partnership Jones was able to speak candidly with Liberian women about violence in their home, particularly rape in marriage, and work with the women to reflect on their hopes and dreams for the future of young women in their communities and their own futures.