About dr. escobar
Dr. Jenny Escobar studies the resiliency and justice initiatives of survivors of state violence, while centering their agency and knowledge as the foundation for building a praxis of local and transnational healing. Her research program is informed by prior community-based collaborations in Colombia and commitment to restorative and transformative justice practices. Dr. Escobar weaves together rigorous transdisciplinary research and community-based foundational knowledge and skills to develop a framework of healing and justice based on the experiences and practices of survivors of state violence. This relational, survivor centered, healing and justice approach includes three areas of research: 1) the memory work of survivors of state violence during and post conflict; 2) the integration of restorative and transformative justice values and practices as a methodology and an area of research; and 3) the inclusion of non-human relatives to identify the power of relationships and ancestral knowledge in survivors’ capacity to heal from and demand justice for state violence.
Photo taken by Jenny Escobar
Aotearoa’s Whanganui River holds deep cultural and spiritual significance for the Māori communities of the region. In March 2017, it was recognized as a legal entity, becoming the second natural feature in the world, after Te Urewera, to be granted the rights and responsibilities of a legal person.