Post-Conflict Reconstruction

Citation:

Liebling, Helen. 2018. "Service Responses for Survivors of Conflict and Post-Conflict Sexual and Gender-Based Violence and Torture in the Great Lakes Region." In Global Health and Security: Critical Feminist Perspectives, edited by Colleen O'Manique and Pieter Fourie, 28-44. Milton Park: Routledge.

Author: Helen Liebling

Abstract:

This chapter proposes that the impact of conflict and post-conflict sexual violence and torture on survivors has often been misunderstood by service providers, academics, and policy makers. It argues for an alternative conceptualisation that is gendered and recognises the devastating impact on survivors’ reproductive and psychological health based on research carried out in the Great Lakes region of Africa. The importance of placing the voices of survivors central in the security debate is highlighted. Sexual violence and torture are violations of survivors’ rights; their bodies, health, and their right to justice need to go hand in hand. Holistic service responses for survivors and a model of care for service providers are required. It is important that such approaches remain sensitive to gender differences, cultural context, and informed by a considered understanding and normalisation of the impact of traumatic experiences. It is argued that services should address stigma and shame as barriers to service access and hence effective responses. In conjunction with restorative justice processes and social support, this would effectively build on the resilience and reconstruction of identities of survivors and their communities.

Keywords: Torture, violence, sexual violence, service provider, Gender, health, justice, shame, normalization, social support, gender-specific factors, reconstruction, community, experience, resilience

Topics: Armed Conflict, Conflict, Gender, Gender-Based Violence, Justice, Post-Conflict, Post-Conflict Reconstruction, Rights, Security, Sexual Violence, Torture Regions: Africa, East Africa

Year: 2018

Citation:

Percival, Valerie, Esther Dusabe-Richards, Haja Wurie, Justine Namakula, Sarah Ssali, and Sally Theobald. 2018. "Are Health Systems Interventions Gender Blind? Examining Health System Reconstruction in Conflict Affected States." Globalization and Health 14: 1-23.

Authors: Valerie Percival, Esther Dusabe-Richards, Haja Wurie, Justine Namakula, Sarah Ssali, Sally Theobald

Abstract:

Background: Global health policy prioritizes improving the health of women and girls, as evident in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), multiple women’s health initiatives, and the billions of dollars spent by international donors and national governments to improve health service delivery in low-income countries. Countries recovering from fragility and conflict often engage in wide-ranging institutional reforms, including within the health system, to address inequities. Research and policy do not sufficiently explore how health system interventions contribute to the broader goal of gender equity.

Methods: This paper utilizes a framework synthesis approach to examine if and how rebuilding health systems affected gender equity in the post-conflict contexts of Mozambique, Timor Leste, Sierra Leone, and Northern Uganda. To undertake this analysis, we utilized the WHO health systems building blocks to establish benchmarks of gender equity. We then identified and evaluated a broad range of available evidence on these building blocks within these four contexts. We reviewed the evidence to assess if and how health interventions during the post-conflict reconstruction period met these gender equity benchmarks.

Findings: Our analysis shows that the four countries did not meet gender equitable benchmarks in their health systems. Across all four contexts, health interventions did not adequately reflect on how gender norms are replicated by the health system, and conversely, how the health system can transform these gender norms and promote gender equity. Gender inequity undermined the ability of health systems to effectively improve health outcomes for women and girls. From our findings, we suggest the key attributes of gender equitable health systems to guide further research and policy.

Conclusion: The use of gender equitable benchmarks provides important insights into how health system interventions in the post-conflict period neglected the role of the health system in addressing or perpetuating gender inequities. Given the frequent contact made by individuals with health services, and the important role of the health system within societies, this gender blind nature of health system engagement missed an important opportunity to contribute to more equitable and peaceful societies. 

Keywords: gender and health, health systems, post-conflict, gender and development

Topics: Development, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equity, Health, Post-Conflict, Post-Conflict Reconstruction Regions: Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa, Oceania Countries: Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Timor-Leste, Uganda

Year: 2018

Citation:

Sartori, Paola, and Alessandra Scalia. 2017. "Women and Peace Operations: The Achievement of the Italian Mission in Herat." IAI Working Papers, Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI), Rome. 

Authors: Paola Sartori, Alessandra Scalia

Abstract:

The research that forms the basis of this study aims to address women’s roles within peace operations, as well as their contribution to security and peace-building. Based on Italy’s contribution to the NATO-led missions – the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and, currently, Resolute Support (RS) – the subject of the analysis is Afghanistan, and particularly Herat Province. The research effort is specifically aimed at assessing the impact of the civil–military cooperation (CIMIC) initiatives implemented by Italian troops in Herat, with a specific focus on gender and Afghan women. The first part of this paper addresses the theoretical framework on women’s participation in stabilization and reconstruction efforts. It introduces concepts such as gender analysis and gender mainstreaming, and, consequently, the benefits of focusing on gender when carrying out CIMIC initiatives within peace operations. The second part focuses on the CIMIC activities implemented by the Italian contingent in Herat Province. The concluding section of the paper provides some “food for thought”, aimed at contributing to further enhancing the effectiveness of the CIMIC projects carried out by the Italian military and their related effects.

Keywords: Afghanistan, security, education, economy, military missions, NATO, civil-military cooperation, Italy

Topics: Gender, Women, Gender Analysis, Gender Mainstreaming, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Militaries, Peace and Security, Post-Conflict, Post-Conflict Reconstruction, Peacebuilding Regions: Asia, South Asia, Europe, Southern Europe Countries: Afghanistan, Italy

Year: 2017

Citation:

Isaković, Nela Porobić, and Gorana Mlinarević. 2019. "Sustainable Transitions to Peace Need Women's Groups and Feminists: Questioning Donor Interventions in Bosnia and Herzegovina." Journal of International Affairs 72 (2): 173-90.

Authors: Nela Porobíc Isaković, Gorona Mlinarević

Abstract:

This paper argues that women’s groups and feminists should be engaged, supported, and integrated into peacebuilding processes to ensure a sustainable and just transition from war to peace. By reflecting on the experiences of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the country’s post-conflict reconstruction and recovery processes, which took on a neoliberal character, the article shows how international politics within the framework of peacebuilding and development were exclusionary in their understanding of gendered experiences of war. At the same time, international politics intervened in a post-war conceptualization of gender equality. By analyzing the interventions, the paper argues that the failure to recognize the importance of addressing gendered experiences of war, as well as patriarchal and structural inequalities, immediately within the peace process and as an integral part of post-conflict recovery strategies, has impaired the building of a sustainable peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We argue that the sustainability and quality of the peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina would have benefited from interventions that engaged, supported, and integrated a grassroots feminist movement. A grassroots feminist movement that puts patriarchal and structural inequalities at the center would have been able to formulate contextualized strategies in response to the challenges that are posed before a country coming out of war.

Keywords: gender equality, feminism, women's rights, nongovernmental organizations, peace negotiation, peace treaties, peacemaking

Topics: Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy, Gender Equality/Inequality, NGOs, Peacebuilding, Peace Processes, Post-Conflict, Post-Conflict Reconstruction, Rights, Women's Rights Regions: Europe, Balkans, Eastern Europe Countries: Bosnia & Herzegovina

Year: 2019

Citation:

Nyukuri, Elvin. 2006. "Women, Land, and Resource Conflicts: Policy Implications and Interventions in Kenya." Nairobi: Acts Press.

Author: Elvin Nyukuri

Annotation:

Topics: Conflict, Resource Conflict, Environment, Gender, Women, Gender Analysis, Post-Conflict, Post-Conflict Reconstruction, Peace Processes, Rights, Land Rights Regions: Africa, East Africa Countries: Kenya

Year: 2006

Citation:

True, Jacqui, and Aida A. Hozić. 2020. “Don’t Mention the War! International Financial Institutions and the Gendered Circuits of Violence in Post-Conflict.” Review of International Political Economy, April, 1–21. doi: 10.1080/09692290.2020.1732443.

Authors: Jacqui True, Aida A. Hozić

Abstract:

This paper provides a framework for explicitly linking feminist analysis of global political economy and feminist analysis of war/peace through the concept of ‘gendered circuits of violence.’ The framework connects the gendered economics of peace and war through analyses of standard policy mechanisms promoted by International Financial Institutions and International Organizations—from general debt servicing and lending in post-war recovery to microfinance programmes, extractive resource economics, taxation, budgeting and austerity in the state sector. With gendered circuits of violence as the core concept, feminist political economy analysis transgresses security-IPE-development divides. Gendered circuits of violence are manifest through bodies that are carriers of violence from war zones to areas of alleged peace; through IFIs as distributors of harm and comfort to transnational households; and in the interstitial post-conflict spaces created by remittances, care and debt. Feminist analysis reveals the imbrication of capitalist systems with the intersectional politics of gender and race, and the (re)production and diffusion of violent conflict.

Keywords: critical feminist IPE, post-conflict, international financial institutions, gendered violence, war, households

Topics: Armed Conflict, Economies, Feminist Economics, Feminisms, Feminist Political Economy, Extractive Industries, Gender, Women, Gender-Based Violence, Households, International Financial Institutions, Post-Conflict, Post-Conflict Reconstruction, Race, Violence

Year: 2020

Citation:

Folami, Olakunle Michael. 2016. “The Gendered Construction of Reparations: An Exploration of Women’s Exclusion from the Niger Delta Reintegration Processes.” Palgrave Communications; London 2 (1). doi: 10.1057/palcomms.2016.83

Author: Olakunle Michael Folami

Abstract:

The Niger Delta is located in the South-south region of Nigeria. Oil exploration and exploitation by the multinational oil companies led to environmental degradation. The agitations among the inhabitants for environmental protection led to a protracted conflict between the Nigerian security forces and the militant groups in the region. Amnesty, disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) were adopted in the region to resolve the conflict by the government. The Niger Delta post-conflict DDR processes were gendered: exclusion of women from the peace processes was a major concern for peacebuilding actors and academics in the region. Men were significantly favoured in the DDR peacebuilding processes because they belonged to militant groups. The roles played by women in the conflict were not however recognised; these included roles in demonstrations, strikes, campaigns, lobbies and as carers, nurses and cooks. Women have therefore sought redress in the peacebuilding processes. This study aims to identify roles played by men and women in the Niger Delta conflict. It examines methods of conflict resolution adopted in the region and also investigates the reason why women were largely excluded from the DDR processes. Recognition Theory is used in this study to examine the institutionalised norms that make gender inclusion in the Niger Delta peacebuilding processes problematic. Recognition theory considers equal treatment to be an important part of a just society, while distributive justice theorists believe that economic goods and wealth must be shared equally. This study was carried out in the Gbaramatu Kingdom, Niger Delta region, Nigeria, in three selected communities: Okerenkoko; Egwa; and Oporoza. A qualitative method involving in-depth interviews was used to collect data from 24 participants. I report that many men and women participated in the conflict but a small number of women (0.6%) were included in the DDR peacebuilding processes. I find that men and women demand that reparations should be considered in addition to the reintegration process that has been adopted in the Niger Delta. Furthermore, I find that apart from patriarchal culture, DDR operational norms only focus on security and not on human rights. I conclude that men’s and women’s rights could be recognized through the combination of DDR and reparations rights in the Niger Delta peacebuilding processes. This article is published as part of a collection on gender studies.

Topics: DDR, Conflict, Gender, Women, Gendered Discourses, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy, Justice, Reparations, Post-Conflict, Post-Conflict Reconstruction, Peacebuilding Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Niger

Year: 2016

Citation:

Swaine, Aisling, Michelle Spearing, Maureen Murphy, and Manuel Contreras-Urbina. 2019. "Exploring the Intersection of Violence Against Women and Girls With Post-Conflict Statebuilding and Peacebuilding Processes: A New Analytical Framework." Journal of Peacebuilding and Development 14 (1): 3-21.

Authors: Aisling Swaine, Michelle Spearing, Maureen Murphy, Manuel Contreras-Urbina

Abstract:

Conflict-related violence against women and girls (VAWG) has drawn increasing attention, yet scholars, policymakers, and practitioners focussed on conflict-related VAWG and those focussed on post-conflict statebuilding and peacebuilding have largely worked separately. Less attention has been given to VAWG during post-conflict transitions than during conflict itself. This article makes three major contributions to guide researchers and policymakers in addressing VAWG in post-conflict contexts. First, it identifies critical gaps in understanding the intersection between VAWG and post-conflict statebuilding and peacebuilding processes. Second, it presents an ecological model to explore the drivers of VAWG during and after armed conflict. Third, it proposes a conceptual framework for analysing and addressing the intersections of VAWG with both post-conflict statebuilding and peacebuilding. The article concludes that application of this framework can help policymakers shape statebuilding and peacebuilding processes to more effectively institutionalise approaches to VAWG so that post-conflict transitions advance sustainable, positive peace.

Keywords: conflict, ecological model, gender-based violence, peacebuilding, post-conflict, transition, statebuilding, violence against women and girls (VAWG), positive peace

Topics: Armed Conflict, Gender, Women, Girls, Gender-Based Violence, Conflict, Peacebuilding, Post-Conflict, Post-Conflict Reconstruction

Year: 2019

Citation:

Berry, Marie E. 2015. "When 'Bright Futures' Fade: Paradoxes of Women’s Empowerment in Rwanda." Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 41 (1): 1-27.

Author: Marie E. Berry

Annotation:

Topics: Democracy / Democratization, Development, Education, Gender, Women, Gender Roles, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Governance, Households, Peacebuilding, Peace Processes, Post-Conflict, Post-Conflict Reconstruction Regions: Africa, Central Africa, East Africa Countries: Rwanda

Year: 2015

Citation:

Omona, Julius, and Jennifer Rose Aduo. 2013. “Gender Issues During Post-Conflict Recovery: The Case of Nwoya District, Northern Uganda.” Journal of Gender Studies 22 (2): 119-36.

Authors: Julius Omona, Jennifer Rose Aduo

Abstract:

This study sought to investigate issues arising during the post-conflict recovery period in northern Uganda as differentiated by gender. The study was exploratory and descriptive, employing both qualitative and quantitative approaches, and the theoretical framework of Greenberg and Zuckerman (2004, 2009) predominantly guided it. The key finding was that needs of citizens during recovery varied by gender and the time that had elapsed since the conflict. A plethora of agencies participated in the post-conflict recovery efforts and many challenges affect the mainstreaming of gender issues into these programmes, especially in a patriarchal society such as the study area. In practical terms, during post-conflict recovery efforts, all stakeholders need to effectively consider analysis of need by gender in their programmes if sustainable PC-PPP (post-conflict, peace, participation and prosperity) is to be realised. This research has contributed to the continuous debate on, and search for, a gender-sensitive post-conflict recovery theory.

Keywords: Gender, needs, post-conflict, internally displaced persons, returnees, Uganda

Topics: Gender, Gender Mainstreaming, Peacebuilding, Post-Conflict, Post-Conflict Reconstruction Regions: Africa, East Africa Countries: Uganda

Year: 2013