Factors that Facilitate and Hinder the Reintegration Processes of Former Combatants and their Families

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to describe positive and negative factors faced by demobilized persons from Illegal Armed Groups (IAG) in Colombia, as well as their families, who are now participating in the Colombian Agency for Reincorporation and Normalization (ARN). This article seeks to expand the existing knowledge of the characteristics and needs these families have considering the complexities of the armed conflict they suffered. This research used a qualitative methodology based on the grounded theory method. The data suggest the need to support parenting processes to avoid the repetition of violent intergenerational patterns, as well as the need to strengthen communication processes within the family system. Moreover, these data underscored the importance of addressing the feelings of stigmatization and estrangement felt by former combatants and their families during the reintegration process. Lastly, this research highlighted the need to work with the host communities considering their essential role in the adjustment process of the ex-combatants and their families, and the need to give meaning to the reintegration process for its participants.