Abstract

FERNANDEZ-MIRANDA, Gabriela  and  ARANGUREN-ROMERO, Juan Pablo. The Emotional Management of Frustration in Forensic Anthropologists Working in the Search for Victims of Forced Disappearance in Colombia. Antipod. Rev. Antropol. Arqueol. [online]. 2023, n.50, pp.93-115.  Epub Feb 22, 2023. ISSN 1900-5407.  https://doi.org/10.7440/antipoda50.2023.05.

Since the end of the twentieth century, the work of forensic professionals in contexts of war has become a topic of particular interest, among other reasons, because of its importance in the clarification of serious human rights violations. The purpose of this article is to characterize the experience of frustration and emotional management strategies used by forensic anthropologists working in the context of the Colombian armed conflict. Using semi-structured interviews with ten forensic anthropologists working in the search for victims of enforced disappearance in Colombia, along with autobiographical analysis, the authors identify the strategies through which forensic professionals manage frustration in a context of armed conflict and political violence. All interviews were held in Bogota in 2019. The forensic anthropologists interviewed were found to be confronted with potential sources of frustration such as complex political scenarios, difficulties of the geographical context to carry out the search processes, long-lasting situations of impunity, and high expectations of the victims’ families to find their loved ones’ remains. The article thus describes the ways in which forensic anthropologists emotionally manage these difficulties in order to maintain their motivation and efforts to continue their work. The authors employ a novel perspective to explore the emotional management of the impacts of work in contexts of political violence and war, revealing the importance of research that allows us to recognize the subject involved before the pain of others.

Keywords : Armed conflict; forced disappearance; forensic anthropology; forensic turn; frustration.

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