Liberia

African Democracy and Development: Challenges for Post-Conflict African Nations

Citation:

Veney, Cassandra Rachel, and Dick W. Simpson, ed. 2013. African Democracy and Development: Challenges for Post-Conflict African Nations. Lanham: Lexington Books.

Authors: Cassandra Veney, Dick Simpson

Annotation:

Summary:
Various African nations have undergone conflict situations since they gained their independence. This book focuses on particular countries that have faced conflict (civil wars and genocide) and are now in the process of rebuilding their political, economic, social, and educational institutions. The countries that are addressed in the book include: Rwanda, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In addition, there is a chapter that addresses the role of the African Diaspora in conflict and post-conflict countries that include Eritrea, Liberia, and Somalia. The book includes an examination of the various actors who are involved in post-conflict rebuilding and reconstruction that involves internal and external participants. For example, it is clear that the internal actors involve Africans themselves as ordinary citizens, members of local and national governments, and members of non-governmental organizations. This allows the reader to understand the agency and empowerment of Africans in post-conflict reconstruction. Various institutions are addressed within the context of the roles they play in establishing governance organizations such as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Sierra Leone, the African Union, chiefs in Liberia, and non-governmental organizations. Furthermore, the external actors who are involved in post-conflict reconstruction are examined such as international non-governmental organizations and the African Diaspora. They both have their own constituents and agendas and can and do play a positive and negative role in post-conflict reconstruction. It is obvious that countries that are addressed in the book are in dire need of financial assistant to rebuild much needed infrastructure that was destroyed during the conflict. All of the countries covered in the book need schools, medical facilities, roads, bridges, airports, ports, and the government does not have the money to provide these. This is where the international non-governmental organizations and the African Diaspora play an important role. The chapters that address these issues are cognizant of their importance and at the same time, the authors realize that sovereignty can be undermined if Africans are not in the forefront of policy and decision making that will determine their future. There are chapters that provide a gendered analysis of post-conflict when it is appropriate. For example, it is clear that women, men, boys, and girls experienced conflict in different ways because of their gender. They all participated in the conflict in various ways. Consequently, the efforts at peace building are given a gendered analysis in terms of what has happened to women and girls in the demobilization and rehabilitation period including an excellent analysis of land reform in Rwanda and how that affects women and members of a certain ethnic group that are often overlooked in the examination of the 1994 genocide. In sum, this book provides a very good contribution to the literature on conflict and post-conflict African countries because of its depth and the vast topics it embraces. It provides an analysis of the internal and external actors, the role of gender in post-conflict decision making, and it provides the voices of ordinary Africans who were affected by the conflict, and who are determined to live productive lives. (Summary from Google Books)
 
Table of Contents:
1. No Justice, No Peace: The Elusive Search for Justice and Reconciliation in Sierra Leone
Sylvia Macauley
 
2. The Role of Ex-Combatants in Mozambique
Jessica Schafer
 
3. Memory Controversies in Post-genocide Rwanda: Implications for Peacebuilding
Elisabeth King
 
4. Land Reform, Social Justice, and Reconstruction: Challenges for Post-genocide Rwanda
Helen Hintjens
 
5. Elections as a Stress Test of Democratization in Societies: A Comparison of Liberia, Sierra Leone, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo
John Yoder
 
6. Partners or Adversaries?: NGOs and the State in Postwar Sierra Leone
Fredline A.O. M'Cormack-Hale
 
7. Chieftancy and Reconstruction in Sierra Leone
Arthur Abraham
 
8. The Role of African Diasporas in Reconstruction
Paul Tiyambe Zeleza
 
9. The Role of the African Union in Reconstruction in Africa
Thomas Kwasi Tieku
 
10. Governance Challenges in Sierra Leone
Osman Gbla
 
11. Challenges of Governance Reform in Liberia
Amos Sawyer
 
12. Achieving Development and Democracy
Dick Simpson

 

Topics: Armed Conflict, Civil Wars, Combatants, DDR, Gender, Gender Analysis, Girls, Women, Genocide, Governance, Infrastructure, International Organizations, Justice, NGOs, Peacebuilding, Post-Conflict, Post-Conflict Reconstruction Regions: Africa, Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa Countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Liberia, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia

Year: 2013

Liberia's Gender-Sensitive Police Reform: Improving Representation and Responsiveness in a Post-Conflict Setting

Citation:

Bacon, Laura. 2015. "Liberia's Gender-Sensitive Police Reform: Improving Representation and Responsiveness in a Post-Conflict Setting." International Peacekeeping 22 (4): 372-97.

Author: Laura Bacon

Abstract:

This article presents a case study from Liberia that focuses on the relationship between police reform and women, peace and security. It explores the Liberia National Police's (LNP) innovative efforts between 2003 and 2013 to recruit more female officers and to train a specialized unit to address sexual- and gender-based violence (SGBV). The analysis focuses on two key goals of the LNP: representation, through the Education Support Programme, and responsiveness, through the Women and Children's Protection Section. Assessed by these two metrics, the Liberian police reform can be considered a qualified success, as the percentage of female officers rose from 2 to 17 per cent, and the LNP improved its response to SGBV reports. Success factors included the timing, context, local ownership and foreign development assistance. However, the sustainability and overall impact of the reforms was severely hindered by low technical capacity and weak rule of law.

Topics: Development, Gender, Women, Gender-Based Violence, Peace and Security, Security, Sexual Violence Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Liberia

Year: 2015

Equal Opportunity Peacekeeping: Women, Peace, and Security in Post-Conflict States

Citation:

Karim, Sabrina, and Kyle Beardsley. 2017. Equal Opportunity Peacekeeping: Women, Peace, and Security in Post-Conflict States. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Authors: Sabrina Karim, Kyle Beardsley

Keywords: peacekeeping, India-United States relations, UN Security Council Resolution 1325, gender equality, gender, women, women peace and security, Liberia, sexual violence, security sector

Annotation:

Summary:
Recent developments such as Sweden's Feminist Foreign Policy, the "Hillary Doctrine," and the integration of women into combat roles in the U.S. have propelled gender equality to the forefront of international politics. The UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations, however, has been integrating gender equality into peacekeeping missions for nearly two decades as part of the women, peace and security agenda that has been most clearly articulated in UNSC Resolution 1325. To what extent have peacekeeping operations achieved gender equality in peacekeeping operations and been vehicles for promoting gender equality in post-conflict states? While there have been major improvements related to women's participation and protection, there is still much left to be desired. Sabrina Karim and Kyle Beardsley argue that gender power imbalances between the sexes and among genders place restrictions on the participation of women in peacekeeping missions. Specifically, discrimination, a relegation of women to safe spaces, and sexual exploitation, abuse, harassment, and violence (SEAHV) continue to threaten progress on gender equality. Using unique cross-national data on sex-disaggregated participation of peacekeepers and on the allegations of SEAHV, as well as original data from the UN Mission in Liberia, the authors examine the origins and consequences of these challenges. Karim and Beardsley also identify and examine how increasing the representation of women in peacekeeping forces, and even more importantly through enhancing a more holistic value for "equal opportunity," can enable peacekeeping operations to overcome the challenges posed by power imbalances and be more of an example of and vehicle for gender equality globally. (Summary from Oxford University Press)
 
Table of Contents:
1. Introduction: Are Blue Helmets Just for Boys?
 
2. The Evolution of Gender Reforms in UN Peacekeeping Missions
 
3. Gender Power Imbalances in Peacekeeping Missions
 
4. Discrimination and Protection Revisited: Female Participation in Peacekeeping Operations
 
5. The Spoils of Peace: SEAHV in Peacekeeping Operation
 
6. Perspectives on Discrimination, Protection, and SEAHV in the UN Mission in Liberia
 
7. On the Ground: Local Legacies of Gender Reforms in the UN Mission in Liberia
 
8. A Call for Equal Opportunity Peacekeeping

Topics: Gender, Gender Mainstreaming, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Hierarchies, Gender Equality/Inequality, Post-Conflict, Peacekeeping, Sexual Violence, Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS, UNSCR 1325 Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Liberia

Year: 2017

The Oxford Handbook of Women, Peace and Security

Citation:

Davies, Sara E., and Jacqui True, eds. 2019. The Oxford Handbook of Women, Peace and Security. New York: Oxford University Press.

Authors: Sara E. Davies, Jacqui True

Abstract:

The Oxford Handbook on Women, Peace, and Security examines the significant and evolving international Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda, which scholars and practitioners have together contributed to advancing over almost two decades. Fifteen years since the passage of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000), the WPS agenda has never been more salient on the agenda of states and international organizations. The Global Study of 1325 (“Preventing Conflict, Securing Peace”) commissioned by the UN Secretary-General and released in September 2015, however, found that there is a major implementation gap with respect to UNSCR 1325 that accounts for the gaping absence of women’s participation in peace and transitional decision-making processes. With independent, critical, and timely analysis by scholars, advocates, and policymakers across global regions, the Oxford Handbook synthesizes new and enduring knowledge, collectively taking stock of what has been achieved and what remains incomplete and unfinished about the WPS agenda. The handbook charts the collective way forward to increase the impact of WPS research, theory, and practice.

Keywords: WPS agenda, women peace and security, UNSCR 1325, gender and security, UN Security Council, women's rights, conflict and post-conflict

Annotation:

Table of Contents:
Part I. Concepts of WPS
 
1. WPS: A Transformative Agenda?
Sara E. Davies and Jacqui True
 
2. Peace and Security from a Feminist Perspective
J. Ann Tickner
 
3. Adoption of 1325 Resolution
Christine Chinkin
 
4. Civil Society's Leadership in Adopting 1325 Resolution
Sanam Naraghi Anderlini
 
5. Scholarly Debates and Contested Meanings of WPS
Fionnuala D. Ní Aoláin and Nahla Valji
 
6. Advocacy and the WPS Agenda
Sarah Taylor
 
7. WPS as a Political Movement
Swanee Hunt and Alive Wairimu Nderitu
 
8. Location Masculinities in WP
Henri Myrttinen
 
9. WPS and Adopted Security Council Resolutions
Laura J Shepherd
 
10. WPS and Gender Mainstreaming
Karin Landgren
 
11. The Production of the 2015 Global Study
Louise Olsson and Theodora-Ismene Gizelis
 
Part II. Pillars of WPS
 
12. WPS and Conflict Prevention
Bela Kapur and Madeleine Rees
 
13. What Works in Participation
Thania Paffenholz
 
14. What Works (and Fails) in Protection
Hannah Donges and Janosch Kullenberg
 
15. What Works in Relief and Recovery
Jacqui True and Sarah Hewitt
 
16. Where the WPS Pillars Intersect
Marie O'Reilly
 
17. WPS and Female Peacekeepers
Natasja Rupesinghe, Eli Stamnes, and John Karlsrud
 
18. WPS and SEA in Peacekeeping Operations
Jamine-Kim Westendorf
 
19. WPS and Peacekeeping Economics
Kathleen M. Jennings
 
20. WPS in Military Training and Socialization
Helena Carreiras and Teresa Fragoso
 
21. WPS and Policing: New Terrain
Bethan Greener
 
22. WPS, States, and the National Action Plans
Mirsad Miki Jacevic
 
Part III. Institutionalizing WPS
 
23. WPS inside the United Nations
Megan Dersnah
 
24. WPS and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Sexual Violence in Conflict
Eleanor O'Gorman
 
25. WPS and the Human Rights Council
Rashida Manjoo
 
26. WPS and International Financial Institutions
Jacqui True and Barbro Svedberg
 
27. WPS and the International Criminal Court
Jonneke Koomen
 
28. WPS and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Stéfanie von Hlatky
 
29. WPS and the African Union
Toni Haastrup
 
30. WPS and the Association of South East Asian Nations
Ma. Lourdes Veneracion-Rallonza
 
31. WPS and the Pacific Islands Forum
Sharon Bhagwan-Rolls and Sian Rolls
 
32. WPS and the Organization of American States
Mary K. Meyer McAleese
 
33. WPS and Civil Society
Annika Bjorkdahl and Johanna Mannergren Selimovic
 
34. WPS and Transnational Feminist Networks
Joy Onyesoh
 
Part IV. Implementing WPS
 
35. Delivering WPS Protection in All Female Peacekeeping Force: The Case of Liberia
Sabrina Karim
 
36. Securing Participation and Protection in Peace Agreements: The Case of Colombia
Isabela Marín Carvajal and Eduardo Álvarez-Vanegas
 
37. WPS and Women's Roles in Conflict-Prevention: The Case of Bougainville
Nicole George
 
38. Women in Rebellion: The Case of Sierra Leone
Zoe Marks
 
39. Protecting Displaced Women and Girls: The Case of Syria
Elizabeth Ferris
 
40. Donor States Delivering on WPS: The Case of Norway
Inger Skjelsbæk and Torunn L. Tryggestad
 
41. WPS as Diplomatic Vocation: The Case of China
Liu Tiewa
 
42. Women Controlling Arms, Building Peace: The Case of the Philippines
Jasmin Nario-Galace
 
43. Testing the WPS Agenda: The Case of Afghanistan
Claire Duncanson and Vanessa Farr
 
44. Mainstreaming WPS in the Armed Forced: The Case of Australia
Jennifer Wittwer
 
Part V. Cross-Cutting Agenda? Connections and Mainstreaming
 
45. WPS and Responsibility to Protect
Alex J. Bellamy and Sara E. Davies
 
46. WPS and Protection of Civilians
Lisa Hultman and Angela Muvumba Sellstrom
 
47. WPS, Children, and Armed Conflict
Katrine Lee-Koo
 
48. WPS, Gender, and Disabilities
Deborah Stienstra
 
49. WPS and Humanitarian Action
Sarah Martin and Devanna de la Puente
 
50. WPS, Migration, and Displacements
Lucy Hall
 
51. WPS and LGBTI Rights
Lisa Davis and Jessica Stern
 
52. WPS and CEDAW, Optional Protocol, and General Recommendations
Catherine O'Rourke with Aisling Swaine
 
53. Women's Roles in CVE
Sri Waiyanti Eddyono with Sara E. Davies
 
54. WPS and Arms Trade Treaty
Ray Acheson and Maria Butler
 
55. WPS and Sustainable Development Goals
Radhika Balakrishnan and Krishanti Dharmaraj
 
56. WPS and the Convention against Torture
Andrea Huber and Therese Rytter
 
57. WPS and Climate Change
Annica Kronsell
 
Part VI. Ongoing and Future Challenges
 
58. Global Study: Looking Forward
Radhika Coomaraswamy and Emily Kenney
 
59. Measuring WPS: A New Global Index
Jeni Klugman
 
60. Pursuing Gender Security
Aisling Swaine
 
61. The Challenge of Foreign Policy in the WPS Agenda
Valerie M. Hudson and Lauren A. Eason
 
62. Networked Advocacy
Yifat Susskind and Diana Duarte
 
63. Women's Peacemaking in South Asia
Meenakshi Gopinath and Rita Manchanda
 
64. WPS, Peace Negotiations, and Peace Agreements
Karin Aggestam
 
65. The WPS Agenda: A Postcolonial Critique
Swati Parashar
 
66. The WPS Agenda and Strategy for the Twenty-First Century
Chantal de Jonge Oudraat
 
67. The Challenges of Monitoring and Analyzing WPS for Scholars
Natalie Florea Hudson

 

Topics: Civil Society, Coloniality/Post-Coloniality, Conflict, Conflict Prevention, Displacement & Migration, Economies, Environment, Climate Change, Feminisms, Gender, Masculinity/ies, Gender Mainstreaming, Gendered Power Relations, International Law, International Organizations, LGBTQ, Peacekeeping, Peace and Security, Peace Processes, Post-Conflict, Rights, Human Rights, Women's Rights, Sexual Violence, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS, UNSCR 1325, Weapons /Arms Regions: Africa, MENA, West Africa, Americas, South America, Asia, East Asia, Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe, Nordic states, Northern Europe, Oceania Countries: Afghanistan, Australia, China, Colombia, Liberia, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Syria

Year: 2019

UNSC Resolution 1325 National Action Plans in Liberia and Sierra Leone: An Analysis of Gendered Power Relations in Hybrid Peacebuilding

Citation:

Ryan, Caitlin, and Helen Basini. 2017. "UNSC Resolution 1325 National Action Plans in Liberia and Sierra Leone: An Analysis of Gendered Power Relations in Hybrid Peacebuilding."Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding 11 (2): 186-206. 

Authors: Caitlin Ryan, Helen Basini

Abstract:

This paper considers how the use of ‘hybridity’ in the peacebuilding literature overlooks the gendered dimensions of hybrid interactions. It does so by examining the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 1325 national action plans (NAPs) for Liberia and Sierra Leone. By asking the gendered questions of ‘who participates?’ and ‘how do they participate?’ it draws from Mac Ginty’s conception of hybridity and traces the compliance and incentivizing power in hybridized peace, as well as the ability of local actors to resist and provide alternatives. However, Mac Ginty’s model is found to be inadequate because of its inattention to the gendered nature of power. It is found that with a gendered approach to hybridity, it is easier to trace the processes of hybridization of NAPs in post-conflict states where their implementation is limited. In asking the questions of ‘who’ and ‘how’, three conclusions about the gendered nature of hybrid peacebuilding are drawn: international intervention relies upon the ‘feminization’ of local actors; issues framed within the realm of the ‘masculine’ are more likely to get attention; and the Resolution 1325 agenda in post-conflict states can be subverted by framing it as a ‘soft’ issue.

Keywords: UNSC Res. 1325, hybrid peace, Liberia, Sierra Leone, National Action Plans

Topics: Gender, Masculinity/ies, Femininity/ies, Gendered Power Relations, Peacebuilding, Peace Processes, Post-Conflict, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS, UNSCR 1325 Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Liberia, Sierra Leone

Year: 2017

Between Fatigue and Silence: The Challenges of Conducting Research on Sexual Violence in Conflict

Citation:

Boesten, Jelke, and Marsha Henry. 2018. "Between Fatigue and Silence: The Challenges of Conducting Research on Sexual Violence in Conflict." Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society 25 (4): 568-88.

Authors: Jelke Boesten, Marsha Henry

Abstract:

This paper discusses the meanings of research fatigue and silences in conflict-related sexual violence research. Drawing on field experiences in Liberia, Tanzania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Peru, we discuss some of the unintended consequences of persistent focus on victim-survivors’ narratives and argue for a reflexive feminist perspective that allows us to question the need and context of interviewing survivors and the associated insistence on disclosure.

Topics: Armed Conflict, Conflict, Feminisms, Sexual Violence Regions: Africa, East Africa, West Africa, Americas, South America, Europe, Balkans, Eastern Europe Countries: Bosnia & Herzegovina, Liberia, Peru, Tanzania

Year: 2018

The Case for Women's Participation in Security

Citation:

Bigio, Jamille, and Rachel Vogelstein. 2016. How Women's Participation in Conflict Prevention and Resolution Advances U.S. Interests. New York: Council on Foreign Relations, 3-16.

Authors: Jamille Bigio, Rachel Vogelstein

Annotation:

Summary: 
"Despite the historical exclusion of women from negotiating tables and security apparatuses, the evidence of women’s contributions to conflict prevention and resolution is growing. Several empirical analyses confirm that women offer unique, substantive, and measurable contributions to securing and keeping peace. Evidence shows that security efforts are more successful and sustainable when women contribute to prevention and early warning, peacemaking, peacekeeping, and postconflict resolution and rebuilding. A qualitative evaluation of women’s influence in recent peace processes—notably in Guatemala (1996), Northern Ireland (1998), Liberia (2003), and the Philippines (2014)— further illustrates the critical role that women can play in resolving conflict and promoting stability” (Bigio and Vogelstein 2016, 3).

Topics: Conflict Prevention, Gender, Women, Post-Conflict, Post-Conflict Reconstruction, Peacebuilding, Peacekeeping, Peace Processes Regions: Africa, West Africa, Americas, Central America, Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe, Western Europe Countries: Guatemala, Liberia, Philippines, United Kingdom

Year: 2016

Deepening the Conversation: Feminism, International Policing and the WPS Agenda

Citation:

Huber, Laura K., and Natalie F. Hudson. 2019. “Deepening the Conversation: Feminism, International Policing and the WPS Agenda.” International Peacekeeping 26 (5): 579–604.

Authors: Laura K. Huber, Natalie F. Hudson

Abstract:

Scholarship on international police reform and Women, Peace and Security (WPS) has flourished in the last decade and the potential for engagement across these two bodies of literature is promising. Given the increased use of police personnel in international peace missions and emphasis on gender mainstreaming policies, the need for assessing the impact of these two trends has never been greater. Thus, this paper seeks to bridge gaps between the mainstream policing scholarship and feminist scholars focused on post-conflict peacebuilding police reforms. We explore how feminist scholars can engage with policing literature’s technocratic language and ‘in the field’ experience as well as how policing scholars can interact with feminist scholars to transform traditional approaches to security in the context of the WPS Agenda. We demonstrate the benefits of increased dialogue and interaction by highlighting the common and diverging challenges in both fields in three areas: the design, implementation, and evaluation. Finally, to illustrate the dynamic intersection of these areas of study and practice, we examine the transnational policing efforts to gender mainstream the Liberian National Police (LNP) in the context of the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL).

Keywords: feminism, police, Gender, security sector reform (SSR), peacekeeping

Topics: Feminisms, Gender, Women, Gender Mainstreaming, International Organizations, Peacebuilding, Peacekeeping, Post-Conflict, Post-Conflict Reconstruction, Security, Security Sector Reform, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Liberia

Year: 2019

Conflict-Related Violence against Women

Citation:

Swaine, Aisling. 2018. Conflict-Related Violence against Women. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Author: Aisling Swaine

Abstract:

By comparatively assessing three conflict-affected jurisdictions (Liberia, Northern Ireland and Timor-Leste), Conflict-Related Violence against Women empirically and theoretically expands current understanding of the form and nature of conflict-time harms impacting women. The 'violences' that occur in conflict beyond strategic rape are first identified. Employing both a disaggregated and an aggregated approach, relations between forms of violence within and across each context's pre-, mid- and post-conflict phase are then assessed, identifying connections and distinctions in violence. Swaine highlights a wider spectrum of conflict-related violence against women than is currently acknowledged. She identifies a range of forces that simultaneously push open and close down spaces for addressing violence against women through post-conflict transitional justice. The book proposes that in the aftermath of conflict, a transformation rather than a transition is required if justice is to play a role in preventing gendered violence before conflict and its appearance during and after conflict.

Annotation:

Table of Contents: 
Part I: Introduction
1. Introduction
 
Part II: Approaches to Understanding Conflict-Related Violence against Women
2. Historic Prevalence Verses Contemporary Celebrity: Sexing Dichotomies in Today's Wars
 
3. Who Wins the Worst Violence Contest? Armed Conflict and Violence in Northern Ireland, Liberia, and Timor-Leste
 
Part III: Violence against Women Before, During, and After Conflict
4. Beyond Strategic Rape: Expanding Conflict-Related Violence Against Women
 
5. Connections and Distinctions: Ambulant Violence Across Pre-, During-, and Post-Conflict Contexts
 
6. Seeing Violence in the Aftermath: What's Labeling Got to Do with It?
 
Part IV: Justice, Transition, and Transformation
7. Transitions and Violence After Conflict: Transitional Justice
 
8. Conclusion: Transforming Transition

Topics: Armed Conflict, Conflict, Gender, Women, Justice, Transitional Justice, Post-Conflict, Sexual Violence, Rape, SV against Women, Violence Regions: Africa, West Africa, Europe, Western Europe, Oceania Countries: Ireland, Liberia, Timor-Leste

Year: 2018

An Analysis of the Implementation of Gender Based Initiatives in Post-conflict Liberia

Citation:

Pruit, Carli N. 2018. "An Analysis of the Implementation of Gender Based Initiatives in Post-conflict Liberia." PhD diss, Widener University.

Author: Carli N. Pruitt

Abstract:

The Liberian people have suffered immensely in recent decades; years of guerrilla-style civil conflict followed by the Ebola crisis has dramatically impacted the nation in a variety of ways. Sexual and gender based violence (SGBV) is highly prevalent in modern day Liberia, as a result of the country’s torrid past. This qualitative study examined the implementation of gender based initiatives under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 in post-conflict Liberia. The primary goal of the study was to identify barriers to implementation of initiatives aimed at gender equality and addressing the issue of sexual and gender based violence. Identification of these barriers is the first step to improved implementation and, ultimately, a reduction in the prevalence of SBGV as well as justice and improved treatment for victims. Seven individuals who directly work with victims of sexual and gender based violence were interviewed utilizing a semistructure questionnaire, and the transcripts were then analyzed using NVivo software and modified grounded theory. Three themes emerged from the content of the interviews: cultural trauma, inadequate government action, and ineffective community response. Participants identified poverty, an inefficient legal system, and a lack of accessible healthcare as the most prominent barriers to implementation of UNSCR gender based initiatives in post-conflict Liberia. Moreover, participants made numerous recommendations to positively impact implementation and identified ways in which the government and the communities are already making positive steps in the right direction. While this study demonstrates that there is much more work to be done, it also highlights the progress achieved thus far as well as the hope and resilience of the Liberian people.

Topics: Armed Conflict, Civil Wars, Conflict, Gender, Gender-Based Violence, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Justice, Post-Conflict, Sexual Violence, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS, UNSCR 1325 Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Liberia

Year: 2018

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