Forced Abortion, Forced Pregnancy: Reproductive Governance within Armed Groups : A Comparative Case Study of the FARC and the LRA

This thesis examines how armed groups govern reproduction among their own members, arguing that reproductive control constitutes a central but understudied dimension of rebel governance. Drawing on the concept of reproductive governance, this study analyses how armed groups exercise power over bodies, fertility, and family formation as a means of organisational control. Through a comparative analysis of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) of Uganda, the thesis examines how two ideologically and regionally distinct groups implemented contrasting reproductive policies; forced contraception and abortion in the FARC, and enforced pregnancy and childbearing in the LRA, while relying on remarkable similar governance mechanisms. Using qualitative analysis of survivor testimonies, human rights reports, and academic research, the study identifies three interlinked forms of control: coercive, organisational, and social. These mechanisms structured women and girl’s reproductive lives through violence, bureaucratic regulation, and ideological normalisation. The comparison demonstrates that reproductive governance functions as an organisational strategy rather than a by-product of ideology and gendered violence, enabling armed groups to manage loyalty, discipline, and group reproduction. By foregrounding reproduction as a site of governance, this thesis contributes to scholarship on armed groups, gender, and conflict by showing how control over reproduction becomes a central mechanism through which armed organisations sustain power, hierarchy, and cohesion.