Presence of the absent father: perceptions of family among peacekeeper-fathered children in the Democratic Republic of Congo

The United Nations Missions in the Democratic Republic of Congo have faced heavy allegations of peacekeeper-perpetrated sexual exploitation and abuse. Reports indicate that sexual encounters between members of peacekeeping forces and female civilians have resulted in the birth of children; however, no conclusive information on these children exists to date. This is the first study to explore the perspectives of youth who were fathered and abandoned by peacekeepers. We analysed semi-structured interviews with 35 peacekeeper-fathered children (PKFC) regarding their perceptions of family in light of their fathers’ absence. The results show that PKFC’s lack of knowledge about their fathers significantly impacts their self-conception and social identity. Not relying on paternal support was perceived to exacerbate poverty while the inability to uncover paternal roots and family ties presented a barrier to cultural integration. Although increasingly reliant on their maternal family, PKFC received limited care from their mothers’ kin networks, causing some to compare their upbringing to that of orphans. The resulting divergence between participants’ ideals of family and their subjective life experiences created cognitive dissonance which was reduced through a situational attribution of neglect. PKFC without support mechanisms engaged in wishful thinking about relationships to their unknown fathers and increased the value of searching for them. Derived from their hope to overcome hardship, they saw the pursuit of ideal-typical family relations as the route to happiness and financial security. Based on the emotional presence of their absent fathers, we discuss family and identity-related challenges for PKFC and make recommendations for positive change.