Geonarratives of Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) in Negros Island, Philippines

Abstract

This paper is part of a broader research project funded by the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) of the Philippines that looks into the lives, spatialities, and practices of human rights defenders (HRDs) in Negros Island, Philippines. The research aims to give voice to HRDs who are largely misrepresented in various media platforms, and to reflect the realities of their precarious lives due to the existing culture of violence and impunity in the island. The data from the research were gleaned using various methods that include: document reviews, online focus group discussions (FGDs), mental mapping, webinars, and KoboCollect mobile surveys. These methods were used to reflect the geonarratives, the grounded experiences of HRDs. We feature map outputs from this project which demonstrate that places are repositories of memories of violence, fear, and abuse, but are also vital sites of hope, community, and mutual care among HRDs.

Keywords: geonarratives, human rights defenders, Philippines, geographies of violence, geographies of care