Survivors' narratives are an invaluable source for the study of violence across academic
fields. At the same time they present several difficulties for academic research. Sources may
be marked by the effects of trauma the lasting impact of perpetrators' political power or
blurred lines between reality and fiction. Ethical and legal problems distances in time
between a violent event and the moment of its narration and the variation in linguistic
phrasing chosen by survivors present additional problems. Based on several case studies the
contributors explore typical problems in the study of violence through survivors' narratives
and possible ways of dealing with them.
