Daniela Suárez Vargas is a PhD candidate (near completion) at Queen’s University Belfast School of Law.

Her doctoral thesis is titled: The Subversive Victim: victimhood and Sexual and Gender-based Violence inside Non-State Armed Groups in Colombia. In her thesis, Daniela examines the engagement of female fighters who experienced sexual, reproductive and gender-based violence within guerrilla and paramilitary groups in Colombian transitional justice.

She also explores how the narrative of the “ideal victim,” the vilification of enemies, politics of victimhood, and individual agency influence the acknowledgement of these women as victims. Daniela holds an LLM with Distinction in Law (QUB) and is a practising lawyer in Colombia (Universidad del Rosario). Daniela has authored some publications covering topics such as SGBV, transitional justice, international criminal law, human rights, decolonial feminisms and criminology.

Conflict, Migration & Social Change Gender, Sexuality & Power