This paper investigates factors that contribute to victim healing in societies recovering from armed conflict. Although transitional justice literature suggests that victim healing is an important post-conflict goal, minimal systematic research exists on how participation in processes such as trials or truth commissions fulfils this aim. Recent studies undertaken in Rwanda and the Balkans have suggested limited psychological benefits of truth-telling in transitional settings; however, factors that increase the potential for victim healing in these processes have not previously been clarified.
To begin filling this gap, in-depth interviews were conducted in Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste with victims of past conflict that participated in a public hearing during their country’s truth commission process. This paper focuses on benefits described by respondents as resulting from giving testimony in public. Findings suggest that public truth-telling may provide victims with opportunities to secure various needs necessary for healing, such as affirmation, remembering/sharing, reduction of fear, cultural respect and restoration of control. A comparison of results from each context also indicates that some victims experienced an improvement in their quality of life and enhanced well-being after giving public testimony. In many cases, these benefits appear to be linked with feelings of relief and community/societal acknowledgment resulting from having their testimony heard in public. Identifying potential benefits for victims participating in these processes is imperative to understanding how transitional justice mechanisms can be designed to better address victim needs. This study thus contributes to the existing body of transitional justice literature as well as providing insight into policy.
