Gender-Based Violence

Citation:

Olsen, Odd Einar, and Kristin Scharffscher. 2004. “Rape in Refugee Camps as Organisational Failures.” International Journal of Human Rights 8 (4): 377–97.

Authors: Odd Einar Olsen, Kristin Scharffscher

Abstract:

Gender-based violence (GBV) in refugee camps is analysed by using mainstream theories of risk and safety management derived from studies of accidents in technological production systems. We use theory of organisational accidents and man-made disasters to explain the mutual linkages between latent conditions for GBV embedded in the structures of humanitarian organisations, and assaults occurring in the camps. Furthermore, safety management theory is applied to explain how organisational preconditions for GBV may develop unnoticed in humanitarian organisations and ultimately contribute to the perpetuated vulnerability of refugee women. The analysis is based on a study undertaken in Sierra Leone.

Topics: Displacement & Migration, Refugees, Refugee/IDP Camps, Gender-Based Violence, Humanitarian Assistance, International Organizations, Sexual Violence, Rape Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Sierra Leone

Year: 2004

Citation:

Kirk, Jackie, and Suzanne Taylor. 2006. “Ending Violence Against Women and Girls in Conflict Contexts: Canadian Efforts and Experiences.” Canadian Woman Studies 25 (1/2): 139–44.

Authors: Jackie Kirk, Suzanne Taylor

Abstract:

Recent years have seen violent conflicts shattering the lives of people around the world, causing death and injury, displacement from their homes, disruption of economic and other activities, and creating fear and insecurity on a large scale. Unlike the wars of previous centuries, conflict is now fought in communities, in the streets, homes, and workplaces of ordinary civilians. Increasingly it is acknowledged that in these contexts, women, girls, boys, and men experience conflict differently. Although more men and boys are killed in conflict, the impacts for women and girls are also brutal, as ethnic hatred, oppression and intolerance are being played out on their bodies. Sexual violence has become part and parcel of the havoc wreaked by fighting forces on women and girls within their own ranks, as well as on women and girls of the “other” side. During the genocide in Rwanda, for example, tens of thousands of women were raped, many of whom were also infected with HIV/AIDS; very few of these women have had any legal redress (Human Rights Watch 2004). Although such conflicts take place far from Canada and in apparently very different contexts, Canada nonetheless has an important role to play in ending violence against girls and women in conflict contexts. Canadian government and civil society are actively engaged in various initiatives and on an international level, Canada is seen as a leader in the field. While this is an important issue for foreign policy, it is also an issue with domestic resonance and significance because of the refugee and immigrant women in Canada who have lived through such experiences. This article considers the role that Canada and Canadians play in reducing the devastating impacts of conflict on women and girls; it describes Canada’s relationship with the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on women, peace and security (and some of the ongoing activities of both government and civil society. The article ends by describing some of the gaps which still exist and some possible ways of addressing these in the future.

Topics: Armed Conflict, Civil Society, Gender, Women, Girls, Gender-Based Violence, Governance, Humanitarian Assistance, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS, UNSCR 1325, Sexual Violence, Rape, SV against Women Regions: Americas, North America Countries: Canada

Year: 2006

Citation:

MacDonald, P., and M. E. Stanton. 2007. “USAID Program for the Prevention and Treatment of Vaginal Fistula.” Prevention and Treatment of Obstetric Fistula: Identifying Research Needs and Public Health Priorities 99 (Supplement 1): 112–16.

Authors: P. MacDonald, M. E. Stanton

Abstract:

The cornerstone of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) fistula program is to support and strengthen local capacity for fistula repair. The USAID program includes support to upgrade facilities, enhance local surgical repair capability, allocate equipment and supplies to operating rooms, implement quality improvement systems, and cover the women's transportation costs to and from the treatment facilities. The program also offers training in clinical and counseling skills; transferring skills South-to-South; and monitoring and evaluating the program's effectiveness. As new fistula cases continually increase the backlog of untreated cases, its efforts are also directed toward the prevention of fistula and the reintegration of treated women into their communities. Furthermore, the program challenges the culture of sexual violence against women that leads to traumatic gynecologic fistulas.

Topics: Gender, Women, Gender-Based Violence, Health, Reproductive Health, International Organizations, Sexual Violence, SV against Women

Year: 2007

Citation:

Summerfield, Derek. 1991. “The Psychosocial Effects of Conflict in the Third World.” Development in Practice 1 (3): 159–73.

Author: Derek Summerfield

Abstract:

In current armed conflicts around the world, over 90 per cent of casualties are civilians. This article reviews medical and anthropological evidence of the psychosocial effects of extreme experiences such as torture, mutilation, rape, and the violent displacement of communities. The consequences for women and children are considered in particular. The author argues that the social development programmes of non-governmental development organisations should be extended to support social networks and institutions in areas of conflict, and ends by giving guidelines for mental health promoters working in traumatised communities.

Topics: Armed Conflict, Development, Displacement & Migration, Gender, Women, Girls, Boys, Gender-Based Violence, Health, Mental Health, Sexual Violence, Rape, Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, Torture

Year: 1991

Citation:

Vetten, Lisa. 2006. “Mapping the Use of Guns in Violence against Women: Findings from Three Studies.” African Studies Review 15 (2): 86–92.

Author: Lisa Vetten

Abstract:

This article explores the role of firearms in acts of violence against women in South Africa, drawing on three datasets: one investigating the implementation of the Domestic Violence Act (DVA), the second exploring gang rapes, and the third documenting intimate femicide. In relation to domestic violence, it was found that while guns were referred to in one in four applications for protection, their removal was ordered in only two per cent of applications. Both a provincial femicide study and a national female homicide study found guns to be the leading cause of death for women killed by their intimate male partners and found that in the majority of cases, the gun was legally owned. In contrast, in the gang rape study it is more likely that the guns were illegally owned. The involvement of a firearm in gang rapes highlights the fact that guns not only fulfill the functional purpose of intimidation and injury, but also communicates power and masculine display. The three studies point to the need to train magistrates around the necessity to remove firearms in cases of domestic violence and that it is essential to challenge the symbolic associations between masculinity and power.

Keywords: domestic violence, rape

Topics: Domestic Violence, Gender, Masculinity/ies, Gender-Based Violence, Gendered Power Relations, Sexual Violence, Rape, SV against Women, Weapons /Arms Regions: Africa, Southern Africa Countries: South Africa

Year: 2006

Citation:

Nkechi, Onwuka Onyinye. 2007. "Civilian Protection in African Peacekeeping: A Gender Perspective." ​Conflict Trends, no. 4, 16-22. 

Author: Onwuka Onyinye Nkechi

Abstract:

This chapter presents a gender analysis of the broader issues of civilian protection in peacekeeping operations in Africa. The author examines the topic of sexual relations and abuse between those involved in peacekeeping operations and the people they are meant to be protecting. The article advocates that peacekeepers who perpetrate gender-based violence and abuse must be adequately punished. Gender training and the increased participation of women in peacekeeping operations are solutions presented as reducing such violence.

Topics: Gender, Gender-Based Violence, Peacekeeping, Sexual Violence, Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Regions: Africa

Year: 2007

Citation:

Heyzer, Noeleen. 2006. “Frameworks for Responding to Sexual Violence in Conflict, Recovery and Reconstruction.” Paper presented at the UNFPA International Symposium on Sexual Violence in Conflict and Beyond, Brussels, June 21-23.

Author: Noeleen Heyzer

Abstract:

How does the international community respond to conflicts and crises? Responses are mainly directed to emergency relief and survival needs through the Combined Appeals Processes (CAPS) in which agencies collect baskets of proposals and submit them collectively, and through the Multi-donor Trust Funds. In practice this means that the bulk of the funds go to larger agencies which do not prioritise protection or treatment of women subject to sexual violence. A new initiative by UN agencies and NGOs, the 'Joint Partnership Against Sexual Violence in Conflict and Crisis Settings', aims to strengthen prevention of sexual violence, expand services for survivors, strengthen global commitment and cooperation to tackle the issue, and provide a comprehensive evidence base for action. There is great need to ensure that the new aid effectiveness agenda addresses women's needs, including around sexual and gender violence. A related issue is the need to obtain more relevant data and indicators on violence against women. One of the most critical periods for action is that of early recovery after conflict, where there is risk of slipping back into violence, but also opportunities to build the foundations of a society where violence is no longer regarded as normal.

Topics: Gender, Women, Gender-Based Violence, Humanitarian Assistance, International Organizations, NGOs, Post-Conflict, Post-Conflict Reconstruction, Sexual Violence, SV against Women

Year: 2006

Citation:

Bosmans, Marleen, Dina Nasser, Umaiyeh Khammash, Patricia Claeys, and Marleen Temmerman. 2008. “Palestinian Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights in a Longstanding Humanitarian Crisis.” Reproductive Health Matters 16 (31): 103–11. doi:10.1016/S0968-8080(08)31343-3.

Authors: Marleen Bosmans, Dina Nasser, Umaiyeh Khammash, Patricia Claeys, Marleen Temmerman

Abstract:

This paper results from a study conducted in the Occupied Palestinian Territory in September 2002 to test the usefulness of a guide for a comprehensive approach to sexual and reproductive health rights and needs of refugee women. In-depth interviews with key informants from 19 organisations and two focus group discussions were carried out in the West Bank and Gaza. Three refugee camps were visited as well as five health facilities. The findings revealed that severe restrictions on mobility had reduced access to health facilities for both staff and patients in a significant way. For pregnant women, this had resulted in decreased access to antenatal and post-natal care and an increasing number of home deliveries, induced deliveries and deliveries at military checkpoints. Lack of donor interest and withdrawal of donor support were mentioned as hampering the implementation of the National Reproductive Health Guidelines, and the sustainability and quality of existing sexual and reproductive health services. Family planning had become a politically sensitive issue, and there were indications of increased gender-based violence. Lack of access to reproductive health services was the most visible aspect of the impact of the conflict on women's sexual and reproductive health. Little attention is paid to the less visible evidence that women's reproductive rights have been subordinated to the political situation.

Topics: Displacement & Migration, Refugees, Gender, Women, Gender-Based Violence, Health, Reproductive Health Regions: MENA, Asia, Middle East Countries: Palestine / Occupied Palestinian Territories

Year: 2008

Citation:

Butalia, Urvashi. 1993. “Community, State and Gender: On Women’s Agency During Partition.” Economic and Political Weekly 28 (17): 12–24.

Author: Urvashi Butalia

Abstract:

For feminists, retrieving women's agency-just as retrieving women from history-has meant recovering strong, outspoken, powerful women who can then form part of the struggle for liberation. However, as explorations on the experiences of women during Partition show, it is difficult to arrive at general conclusions about women, history and their agential capacity. Women have often played out multiple and overlapping identities. An understanding of agency also needs to take into account notions of the moral order which is sought to be preserved when women act, as well as the mediation of the family, community, class and religion. The focus of this paper is on the related questions of women's agency and violence. It first looks at particular incidents that took place before Partition in Rawalpindi, in March 1947. The second section examines how the newly formed nation state dealt with the question of women after Partition and the third, through memoirs and personal accounts, the relationships between women who worked on behalf of the state with the state, and the women they worked with.

Topics: Armed Conflict, Ethnic/Communal Wars, Feminisms, Gender, Women, Gender-Based Violence Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: India, Pakistan

Year: 1993

Citation:

Maclure, Richard, and Myriam Denov. 2009. “Reconstruction versus Transformation: Post-War Education and the Struggle for Gender Equity in Sierra Leone.” International Journal of Educational Development 29 (6): 612–20. doi:10.1016/j.ijedudev.2008.11.001.

Authors: Richard Maclure, Myriam Denov

Abstract:

In post-war contexts, education is widely regarded as essential not only for civic reconciliation, but also as a key force for gender equity. In Sierra Leone, however, despite enhanced educational opportunities for girls, much of the emphasis on post-war educational reconstruction is unlikely to rectify gender inequities that remain entrenched within mainstream schooling and in the broader social context. Yet the capacity of education to contribute to gender-based change has not been entirely muted. Several women’s associations are supporting girls’ education as integral to economic and political actions aimed at challenging the hegemony of patriarchy and gendered violence. What remains to be seen is whether these discrete efforts can foster a women’s movement capable of altering the structures of patriarchal power in Sierra Leone.

Keywords: Girls' education, Sierra Leone, post-conflict reconstruction, gender equity

Topics: Development, Education, Gender, Women, Girls, Gender-Based Violence, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy, Gender Equity, Political Economies, Post-Conflict, Post-Conflict Reconstruction Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Sierra Leone

Year: 2009