‘At the end of their relationship, that man offered her a house’: Qualitatively exploring Congolese women’s agency in navigating sexual relations with UN peacekeepers within the context of a patriarchal setting in eastern DRC

Figures & data

Table 1. Exclusion and inclusion criteria.

Inclusion criteria Stories that discussed consensual adult relationships between UN peacekeepers and local women Stories that showed women gaining new opportunities Stories that demonstrated agency

Exclusion criteria Stories describing any form of SEA and any mention of a minor under the age of 18 Stories describing sex work or survival sex Stories without sufficient detail including those that the participant had only heard or read about

Table 2. Types of opportunities.

Type	Example	Quotes from data
Assets	House, car, motorbike, plot of land, financial support, etc.	A little time later, that man had a very good house built for the girl in the downtown of Kisangani. ID 1452
Resources	Phones, clothes, stocks of essential food, furniture, cash for daily expenses or education related fees etc.	She was coming home with clothes and phones that our father had never bought. ID 2431
Livelihoods	Income generation, improved socio-economic status, money for a business, informal employment, etc.	When the man was deployed to another country, he gave some money to his wife in order for her to start business …  ID 1452
Capital	Educational degree, formal salaried employment or a significant number of assets	He was providing her with money. In addition, he bought a piece of land at Mutumbe … He even had the house built for her and a means of transportation. ID 1590
Social Mobility	Any change (positive or negative) in a person's social capital	Formerly, she was selling avocados … . one of them made her pregnant and went away to his home country … Unexpectedly, the white man sent money to her to buy a plot of land, and then he sent again money that they used to build a house. Nowadays, she is now selling computers, shoes … ID 217
Child Fees or Support	Money given specifically for a peacekeeper fathered child, or other children the woman entered the relationship with	That girl had a peace baby with an expatriate working for MONUSCO. That agent bought a house and a car [for] the girl. At a certain moment, that man departed, but he always sends money to his wife and child. Now that girl lives very well. – ID1457
Dowry or Marriage	Money given to the family either to date or marry the daughter OR for a legal or civil marriage union	They fell in love with each other. And now they are both in Uruguay because he married her before they travelled. ID 1641

Figure 1. Conceptual framework.