This interview is also available in English. You can find the English version here.

This interview is also available in English. You can find the English version here.

Content warning: This article is about violence and abuse of power in German-language peace and conflict research and its underlying structures. No specific cases or actions are described.

In the course of the #MeToo movement, cases of violence and abuse of power have gained new publicity since 2017. The problem does not stop in the film industry, but is also reproduced in scientific structures in particular[1]. It is precisely in situations in which power hierarchies exist between people that this relationship is repeatedly exploited. The fact that violence and abuse of power also take place and remain concealed in German-language peace and conflict research is all the more serious, as this field also conducts research into the dismantling of structures of violence and social justice!

During the colloquium of the Association for Peace and Conflict Research (AFK) in March 2024, this topic was addressed in a "Bystander Workshop on Violence and Abuse of Power in Peace and Conflict Research", which was organized by the AFK's women's representatives, Madita Standke-Erdmann and Stefanie Wesch, and conducted by the educational collective for emancipatory practice fem*ergenz. Bystanders are people who do not experience violence and abuse of power themselves, but are (un)conscious witnesses and act in a supportive manner. In this interview, Madita Standke-Erdmann looks at the organization of the workshop and how the topic is dealt with in German-speaking peace and conflict research.

Peace Academy (FA): How did it come about that you organized the Bystander Workshop on Violence and Abuse of Power in Peace and Conflict Research as part of the AFK Colloquium?

Madita Standke-Erdmann (S-E): First of all, thank you for giving us the opportunity to publicize the topic a little more via this blog. I think it's really great and very important to deal with it in different formats and different contexts. Unfortunately, it doesn't just concern peace and conflict research, but is of course a topic that is embedded in larger social structures.

How did the workshop come about? In 2022, shortly before the first colloquium, which again took place in person, we received a message from a member who, together with another person, reported specific cases of violence and abuse of power in the German-speaking academic context. From my own experience and when dealing with people who report this, I always like to talk about "survivors ", because talking about "victims" or "those affected" has a victimizing tone.

The two of them talked to us about what can be done by the AFK. At the time, Christine Buchwald and I were still women's representatives. Together with the Executive Board, we then decided to publish a statement in solidarity with people who have had such experiences, regardless of their nature. We spent a very long time dealing with it in order to be able to grasp all the dimensions. As a result, we decided during the colloquium and also in consultation with the membership, especially with the Network of Women Peace Researchers, that we would like to organize this bystander workshop at the next colloquium. It was also important to us not just to print something once and then never talk about it again, but to keep the topic on the agenda.

Last year, this topic became particularly virulent again with #MeTooHistory, i.e. the continuation of the #MeToo campaign in relation to historical studies, due to the case at Humboldt University[2]. We then decided to organize a workshop, which was to be conducted by external educational speakers. Based on a systemic understanding, we did not want to manage this within the membership: Firstly, we can't do it alone and secondly, we wanted to have people from outside look at it. Fortunately, we were given the resources and time to do this.

FA: How was the response to the workshop? Would you say there is an awareness of the problem in the community?

S-E: The initial response was huge, in my opinion. And not just during the workshop, but also beforehand. There was gratitude that the workshop was taking place at all. During the colloquium, many people took the time to attend, even though I hadn't expected them to. We also received a lot of positive feedback afterwards. Stefanie Wesch[3] and I were approached by many people who said that the workshop had met with a very positive response.

I am very, very skeptical as to whether there is an awareness of the problem. I believe that the workshop is the first time that violence and abuse of power have been systematically addressed. And that's not all, at best there will be more activities on the subject. But I have the feeling that we have touched on topics that are actually present, but with which many people feel extremely alone, as there is no discourse on them and no public critical positioning. Especially because it has a lot to do with power hierarchies and positions of power. So the response was great, but the awareness of the problem is not really there. The speakers always assume that people with experience in this field are present in the workshops. Therefore, the positive response was more likely to come from people who had already dealt with this topic in some way. Awareness of the problem itself, e.g. of the various strategies used by perpetrators, is not as pronounced. And knowledge is the key here for both survivors and bystanders to protect themselves, recognize dynamics early on and act if necessary.

FA: To what extent can you, as women's representatives of the AFK, provide concrete support for survivors or bystanders?

S-E: First of all, we are a point of contact. We can be contacted or approached, either individually or via our shared e-mail address[4]. But we can also be contacted at the colloquium. There was also an awareness person for the first time at the last one[5]. But unfortunately there was only one, and we want to make this even more firmly established in the future so that the responsibility doesn't just rest on the shoulders of the women's representatives.

What we can do is open up the discourse within the membership, precisely by offering such opportunities. We can talk to the members about their needs. Of course, we can't provide psychosocial support because we are not trained for this, which is why it is naturally limited. What we can do, however, is to demonstrate together with the board team that the AFK is a space in which there is no tolerance for any kind of psychological, emotional, physical and sexualized violence and that it should be a safe space at best. We know that it cannot be a safe space, precisely because of social power structures, but at least a safer space.

We are also able to continue to address the problem and give people the feeling that they can also get support from each other, for example by organizing this bystander workshop. This was not just a PowerPoint presentation with input, but was characterized by interactive elements so that we as a community can think about ways to support each other.

FA: Are FLINTA* people[6] more often confronted with violence and abuse of power in the university context? Do you know of any studies on this and what is your experience?

S-E: I believe that FLINTA* people and BIPOC people[7] tend to be more affected by violence and abuse of power in society. However, I always find it difficult to assess how power hierarchies are affected. So, this element of hierarchy between professor and doctoral student, for example, is in itself an implicit inequality of power. Accordingly, I find it difficult to assess the extent to which one can make generally valid statements about this. Unfortunately, I can't think of any statistics, but the way I understand it, FLINTA* people and BIPOC are confronted with this kind of experience at an above-average rate. But that's what they are most of the time in society as a whole. That's why I wouldn't make such a big deal out of it. This power component of different access to resources, to socio-economic security, to contact points and anchoring is important. We also talked about this in the workshop. For example, the question of "Who is actually believed?" due to inscribed power hierarchies is relevant here. Someone who has been in the limelight for a long time or is simply well-known in a certain community and has a certain standing may be believed more than a person who no one or hardly anyone knows. An intervention by survivors may then be perceived as damaging to their reputation and untrustworthy. The perpetrator and their status are then in the foreground, they may even be institutionally protected, while the person's suffering is not recognized.

FA: What could working groups or institutes, chairs, organizational units, etc. do to prevent violence and abuse of power or to support survivors?

S-E: I think awareness-raising training is really important. So, it is important that people who are part of the academic system, who study or have an active role, deal with this issue. Target group-specific offers are important here. What I have noticed since 2019, since I have been working in science myself, is that many people who, for example, successfully conduct research or acquire third-party funding and are therefore able to establish themselves in universities, are not necessarily trained in the area of personnel responsibility. And I believe that if this were to be strengthened, which many universities are already trying to do, plus training to raise awareness of violence and abuse of power would be integrated into it, a lot would already be done.

At the same time, of course, this would also send out a signal. When an institution offers something like this, it first of all means: "We are here (at least we try to be)! We are awake! We are sensitized to this issue! We do not tolerate or accept this!" But of course it's not enough to just talk about it once. I think, and this is my personal opinion, that such training should take a perspective that is critical of power and hierarchy. That's why we invited the feminist education collective fem*ergenz from Würzburg, which did a fantastic job in this workshop.

The other point is that concrete contact points need to be created, which is always a question of resources, which are usually scarce at universities or in the academic context. Equal opportunities officers, for example, often do not have the psychosocial skills or the role and time resources to be a point of contact for cases of violence or abuse of power in the academic system. In addition, there are often psychosocial counseling centers that are either docked at universities or in their environment, but there is rarely any interlinking or dovetailing. At best, institutions create trust-inspiring spaces in which survivors and bystanders are helped. And consequences are needed. It is not enough to recognize what survivors have experienced and to support them in navigating their experiences. There must be consequences on the part of institutions or associations, such as the AFK, for perpetrators who become violent or abuse their position of power. At the same time, institutional prevention work is needed. This is the only way to achieve structural change.

FA: Are you planning to take up the topic again at AFK events? What is the next step?

S-E: We women's representatives definitely want to continue with this. I also know that there is support for this from the Executive Board and that this work is seen as very important. I could imagine that the topic will be explored in more depth in further workshops, which could, for example, look at anti-racist or queer-feminist approaches again. Ideally, this will be done together with the diversity working group, which has been around for a while now. Otherwise, we will listen and pay attention to what the membership tells us. For this year, we know that there is an extremely strong desire for it to remain on the agenda. And we will definitely work towards that.

FA: Finally, what is important for you to add?

S-E: I would like to signal to people reading this that they are not alone with these experiences. It is so difficult to pluck up the courage to turn to someone and say: "Bad things have happened to me here, but I need help". That's really important at first and a huge step! At the same time, there are also opportunities to support survivors. Bystanders can also proactively ask in a safe environment what people who have confided in them need. In my opinion, the feeling of not being alone as a survivor is one of the most important components in coming to terms with the experience, which can sometimes take a long time and be multi-layered. The after-effects of abuse can also take time to show themselves. This can be confusing for outsiders at first. But here too, bystanders can learn to provide support, as long as this does not strain their own resources.

And as an appeal to the scientific community: Believe people who tell you about their experiences of violence! Believe people who report that things have happened to them that have hurt or traumatized them! An awareness of violence and abuse of power must be created. Because the damage that remains after such experiences can be extremely long-lasting and, in my opinion, is quite underestimated. This doesn't have to be the case for everyone, as people react differently to psychological stress. But the mere fact that violence and abuse of power can cause quite a lot of damage requires vigilance, power-critical, solidarity-based and victim-oriented prevention work and faith in the people who tell about it.

[1] Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency (2015). Sexual harassment in the university context - gaps in protection and recommendations. https://www.antidiskriminierungsstelle.de/SharedDocs/downloads/DE/publikationen/Expertisen/expertise_sexuelle_belaestigung_im_hochschulkontext.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=3

[2] Following allegations of sexualized violence, Humboldt University Berlin suspended a professor and initiated disciplinary proceedings.

[3] Madita Standke-Erdmann and Stefanie Wesch have been the AFK's Women's Representatives since 2021 and 2023 respectively.

[4] frauenbeauftragte@afk-web.de

[5] Awareness teams serve as contact persons at events and provide support in the event of experiences of discrimination and border crossings.

[6] Women, lesbians, inter, non-binary, trans and agender people

[7] Black, Indigenous and People of Color