Liberia

Women in Peacebuilding: A Criticism of Gendered Solutions in Postconflict Situations

Citation:

Erzurum, Kemal and Berna Eren. 2014. “Women in Peacebuilding: A Criticism of Gendered Solutions in Postconflict Situations.” Journal of Applied Security Research 9 (2): 236–56.

Authors: Kemal Erzurum, Berna Eren

Abstract:

Women are the most suffering part of populations in conflicts. They are required to fulfill different responsibilities during and after conflicts. Considering this fact, participation of women at peacebuilding efforts in postconflict areas has been considered as sine qua non requirement. However, active participation of women at these efforts, particularly decision-making activities, has been hampered due to diverse reasons. The barriers that block women involved in peacebuilding processes as decision-makers should be reexamined and eliminated by eradicating inequalities. In this article, gender-based violence, underestimated plight of women in conflicts, gendered approach of peacebuilding efforts, and the barriers in front of women's active participation in decision-making processes are examined.

Keywords: women, peace, peacebuilding, conflict, decision making, gender

Topics: Conflict, Gender, Women, Peacebuilding, Political Participation, Post-Conflict Regions: Africa, Europe Countries: Bosnia & Herzegovina, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Sierra Leone

Year: 2014

Using a Gender-Responsive Land Rights Framework to Assess Youth Land Rights in Rural Liberia

Citation:

Louis, Elizabeth, Tizai Mauto, My-Lan Dodd, Tasha Heidenrich, Peter Dolo, and Emmanuel Urey. 2020. “Using a Gender-Responsive Land Rights Framework to Assess Youth Land Rights in Rural Liberia.” Land 9 (8): 247–68.

 

Authors: Elizabeth Louis, Tizai Mauto , My-Lan Dodd, Tasha Heidenrich, Peter Dolo, Emmanuel Urey

Abstract:

This article summarizes the evidence on youth land rights in Liberia from a literature review combined with primary research from two separate studies: (1) A qualitative assessment conducted as formative research to inform the design of the Land Rights and Sustainable Development (LRSD) project for Landesa and its partners’ community level interventions; and (2) a quantitative baseline survey of program beneficiaries as part of an evaluation of the LRSD project. The findings are presented using a Gender-Responsive Land Rights Framework that examines youth land rights through a gender lens. The evidence highlights that female and male youth in Liberia face significant but different barriers to long-term access to land, as well as to participation in decisions related to land. Our suggested recommendations offer insights for the implementation of Liberia’s recently passed Land Rights Act as well as for community-level interventions focused on increasing youth land tenure security in Liberia.

Keywords: youth land rights, gender- responsive land rights, Liberia Land Rights Act, land governance, tenure security

Topics: Age, Youth, Gender, Gender Analysis, Land Tenure, Rights, Land Rights Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Liberia

Year: 2020

Using a Gender-Responsive Land Rights Framework to Assess Youth Land Rights in Rural Liberia

Citation:

Louis, Elizabeth, Tizai Mauto, My-Lan Dodd, Tasha Heidenrich, Peter Dolo and Emmanuel Urey. 2020. “Using a Gender-Responsive Land Rights Framework to Assess Youth Land Rights in Rural Liberia.” Land 9 (8): 247–68.

Authors: Elizabeth Louis, Tizai Mauto, My-Lan Dodd, Tasha Heidenrich, Peter Dolo, Emmanuel Urey

Abstract:

This article summarizes the evidence on youth land rights in Liberia from a literature review combined with primary research from two separate studies: (1) A qualitative assessment conducted as formative research to inform the design of the Land Rights and Sustainable Development (LRSD) project for Landesa and its partners’ community level interventions; and (2) a quantitative baseline survey of program beneficiaries as part of an evaluation of the LRSD project. The findings are presented using a Gender-Responsive Land Rights Framework that examines youth land rights through a gender lens. The evidence highlights that female and male youth in Liberia face significant but different barriers to long-term access to land, as well as to participation in decisions related to land. Our suggested recommendations offer insights for the implementation of Liberia’s recently passed Land Rights Act as well as for community-level interventions focused on increasing youth land tenure security in Liberia.

Keywords: youth land rights, gender-responsive land rights framework, Liberia Land Rights Act, land governance, tenure security

Topics: Age, Youth, Gender, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Land Tenure, Rights, Land Rights Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Liberia

Year: 2020

Peacekeeping, Compliance with International Norms, and Transactional Sex in Monrovia, Liberia

Citation:

Beber, Bernd, Michael J. Gilligan, Jenny Guardado, and Sabrina Karim. 2017. “Peacekeeping, Compliance with International Norms, and Transactional Sex in Monrovia, Liberia.” International Organization 71 (1): 1–30.

Authors: Bernd Beber, Michael J. Gilligan, Jenny Guardado, Sabrina Karim

Abstract:

United Nations policy forbids its peacekeepers and other personnel from engaging in transactional sex (the exchange of money, favors, or gifts for sex), but we find the behavior to be very common in our survey of Liberian women. Using satellite imagery and GPS locators, we randomly selected 1,381 households and randomly sampled 475 women between the ages of eighteen and thirty. Using an iPod in private to preserve the anonymity of their responses, these women answered sensitive questions about their sexual histories. More than half of them had engaged in transactional sex, a large majority of them (more than 75 percent) with UN personnel. We estimate that each additional battalion of UN peacekeepers caused a significant increase in a woman’s probability of engaging in her first transactional sex. Our findings raise the concern that the private actions of UN personnel in the field may set back the UN’s broader gender-equality and economic development goals, and raise broader questions about compliance with international norms.

Topics: Gender, Women, International Organizations, Peacekeeping, Sexual Violence, Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Liberia

Year: 2017

The Success of Women's Participation In Resolving Conflicts In Liberia

Citation:

Masitoh, Dewi. 2020. "The Success of Women's Participation In Resolving Conflicts In Liberia." Journal of Governance 5 (1): 71-90.

Author: Dewi Masitoh

Abstract:

The Civil War that occurred in Liberia has been going on for a long time, where there are two rebel groups, they are: Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) and Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL). Both of these rebel groups have caused gender inequality in Liberia continuously, especially women who have been victims of this war. However, with the efforts and participation of women from Liberian society, the war was successfully reconciled without creating violence. This research is aimed at realizing that women are not only victims of gender inequality, but can also be 'agents of change' in creating peace and better change for the future of a country. This research will use qualitative research methods, that emphasize the observation and understanding of a social phenomenon, where data is collected through secondary data and literature review. This research will analyze the case using three concepts: Feminism, Gender Equality, and Peace. The research concluded that there have been several efforts that have been made by women to resolve conflicts in Liberia by creating and building peace sustainably so that peace can be stable for a long time. The efforts that have been made by Liberian women are by creating several organizations and affiliations, they are: Woman in the Peacebuilding Network (WIPNET), Mano River Women's Peace Network (MARWOPNET), Association of Female Lawyers of Liberia (AFELL). This long-term peace can improve gender equality in several sectors of Liberian society, such as the economy and political sectors that are getting better and more effective from year to year.

Keywords: women's participation, conflicts, democracy, Liberia, Movement

Topics: Armed Conflict, Civil Wars, Civil Society, Feminisms, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Peacebuilding Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Liberia

Year: 2020

Liberia’s Women Veterans: War, Roles and Reintegration

Citation:

Vastapuu, Leena. 2018. Liberia's Women Veterans: War, Roles and Reintegration. London: Zed Books.

Author: Leena Vastapuu

Annotation:

Summary:
The Liberian civil wars of the 1990s and 2000s were notorious for their atrocities, and for the widespread use of child soldiers by both sides. Young girls accounted for up to forty percent of these combatants, but their unique perspective and experiences have largely been excluded from accounts of the conflict.
 
In Liberia’s Woman Veterans, Leena Vastapuu uses an innovative “auto-photographic” methodology to tell the story of two of Africa’s most brutal civil wars through the eyes of 133 former female child soldiers. It allows the book to provide a palpable account of these women’s experiences of trauma and stigma. It also illustrates the challenges of reintegration into postwar society, as well as the women’s hopes and aspirations for the future. Vastapuu argues that these women, too often perceived merely as passive victims of the conflict, can in fact play an important role in postwar reconciliation and peace building. In the process, the work overturns gendered perceptions of warfare and militarism, and provides an exceptional take on postconflict societies. (Summary from Zed Books)

Topics: Armed Conflict, Civil Wars, Combatants, Child Soldiers, DDR, Gender, Girls, Health, Trauma, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Militarism, Post-Conflict, Peacebuilding Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Liberia

Year: 2018

From Political to Personal Violence: Links between Conflict and Non-Partner Physical Violence in Post-Conflict Liberia

Citation:

Kelly, Jocelyn T. D., Elizabeth Colantuoni, Courtland Robinson, and Michele R. Decker. 2019. "From Political to Personal Violence: Links between Conflict and Non-Partner Physical Violence in Post-Conflict Liberia." Global Public Health 14 (12): 1639-52.

Authors: Jocelyn Kelly, Elizabeth Colantuoni, Courtland Robinson, Michele R. Decker

Abstract:

War and interpersonal violence together account for a large burden on global health. Yet very few studies look at the relationship between these types of aggression. Non-partner physical violence (NPPV) is an often-understudied form of gender-based violence (GBV). This analysis draws on two datasets from one conflict-affected country, Liberia, to evaluate the impact of conflict on NPPV post-conflict. The Armed Conflict Location and Event Dataset (ACLED) measures the intensity of the conflict in Liberia from 1999-2003, while the Demographic and Heath Survey (DHS) data measure women's experiences with violence four years post-conflict. Almost half of women surveyed (45%) indicated that they experienced any kind of NPPV, highlighting the widespread nature of this issue. A multilevel modelling approach was used to account for the nesting of individuals within districts. Women living in districts that experienced conflict events in four or five years were almost three times as likely (aOR 2.93, p < .001) to experience past-year NPPV compared to individuals living in no conflict districts. Findings from this study suggest women residing in a conflict event-affected district may be at heightened risk of increased violence even years after peace is declared.

Keywords: interpersonal violence, conflict, civil war, contagion of violence, human rights

Topics: Armed Conflict, Gender, Women, Gender-Based Violence, Post-Conflict, Violence Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Liberia

Year: 2019

Women, Gender Equality, and Post-Conflict Transformation: Lessons Learned, Implications for the Future

Citation:

Kaufman, Joyce P., and Kristen P. Williams, eds. 2019. Women, Gender Equality, and Post-Conflict Transformation: Lessons Learned, Implications for the Future. Abingdon: Routledge.

Authors: Joyce P. Kaufman, Kristen P. Williams

Abstract:

Summary:
The end of formal hostilities in any given conflict provides an opportunity to transform society in order to secure a stable peace. This book builds on the existing feminist international relations literature as well as lessons of past cases that reinforce the importance of including women in the post-conflict transition process, and are important to our general understanding of gender relations in the conflict and post-conflict periods. Post-conflict transformation processes, including disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) programs, transitional justice mechanisms, reconciliation measures, and legal and political reforms, which emerge after the formal hostilities end demonstrate that war and peace impact, and are impacted by, women and men differently. By drawing on a strong theoretical framework and a number of cases, this volume provides important insight into questions pertaining to the end of conflict and the challenges inherent in the post-conflict transition period that are relevant to students and practitioners alike. (Summary from Routledge)
 
Table of Contents:
1. Women Living in a Gendered World
Laura Sjoberg
 
2. The Aftermath of War: Considering Gender in the Process of Disarmament, Demilitarization and Reintegration
Fionnuala Ni Aolain
 
3. Imagined Peace, Gender Relations and Post-Conflict Transformation: Anti-Colonial and Post-Cold War Conflicts
Jane L. Parpart
 
4. The Gender Politics of Negotiating and Renegotiating the Peace in Northern Ireland
Fidelma Ashe and Carmel Roulston
 
5. Bosnia, Women, and Gender in a Post-Dayton World
Kristen P. Williams
 
6. Perpetuating a Gendered Peace? Exploring Gender Mainstreaming in Disarmament, Demobilization, Rehabilitation and Reintegration (DDRR) in Liberia
Helen S. A. Basini
 
7. Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration and the Poetics of Slavery in Sierra Leone
Megan H. MacKenzie
 
8. Women, Apartheid and the TRC: The Impact of Apartheid on Women in South Africa, Plus 20 Years
Joyrce P. Kaufman
 
9. Engendering Peace: Divergent Post-Conflict Processes for Women in Guatemala and El Salvador
Kara Ellerby
 
10. Conclusions
Joyce P. Kaufman and Kristen P. Williams

Topics: DDR, Feminisms, Gender, Gender Mainstreaming, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Justice, Transitional Justice, Post-Conflict, Race, Peace Processes Regions: Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa, Americas, Central America, Europe, Balkans, Eastern Europe, Northern Europe Countries: Bosnia & Herzegovina, El Salvador, Guatemala, Liberia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, United Kingdom

Year: 2019

Messy Feminist Knowledge Politics: A Double Reading of Post-Conflict Gender Mainstreaming in Liberia

Citation:

Kunz, Rahel. 2020. "Messy Feminist Knowledge Politics: A Double Reading of Post-Conflict Gender Mainstreaming in Liberia." International Feminist Journal of Politics 22 (1): 63-85.

Author: Rahel Kunz

Abstract:

The debate around the production and circulation of feminist knowledge has been rekindled since the emergence of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda. While much attention focuses on the diffusion of WPS norms, less is paid to the sociocultural context within which feminist ideas circulate through WPS gender-mainstreaming (GM) interventions, its broader implications, and what happens beyond. I propose a double reading of GM as a site of feminist knowledge production and circulation: I combine anthropological and feminist governmentality insights to analyze GM as a form of (disciplinary) governing with insights from post/decolonial scholars that call for an engagement with the “exteriority” of interventions, with what lies outside our grid of intelligibility of the narrow political terrain of GM. Through a case study of the post-conflict GM intervention in Liberia, I illustrate how this double reading reveals the ways in which GM works as a gendered form of governing to prescribe dualistic social roles and (re)produce social differentiation mechanisms linked to “civilization.” An engagement with the exteriority of the GM intervention reveals critiques and alternative forms of feminist knowledge production and circulation that emphasize non-dualistic and non-judgmental attitudes and propose invited partnership and dialogue.

Keywords: feminist knowledge circulation, gender mainstreaming, governmentality, post/decolonial feminism, norm diffusion, women, peace and security

Topics: Coloniality/Post-Coloniality, Feminisms, Gender Mainstreaming, Governance, Post-Conflict, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Liberia

Year: 2020

Restoring Confidence in Post-Conflict Security Sectors: Survey Evidence from Liberia on Female Ratio Balancing Reforms

Citation:

Karim, Sabrina. 2019. “Restoring Confidence in Post-Conflict Security Sectors: Survey Evidence from Liberia on Female Ratio Balancing Reforms.” British Journal of Political Science 49 (3): 799-821.

Author: Sabrina Karim

Abstract:

Civilian confidence in domestic institutions, particularly in the security sector, is important for stability and state consolidation in post-conflict countries, where third-party peacekeepers have helped maintain peace and security after a conflict. While other scholars have suggested that a strong security sector is necessary for mitigating the credible commitment problem, this article provides two alternative criteria for assessing security sector reforms’ effect on confidence in the security sector: restraint and inclusiveness. Female ratio balancing in the security sector meets these two criteria, suggesting that it has the potential to help enhance confidence in the security sector and thereby create the right conditions for the peacekeeping transition. The argument is tested using original surveys conducted in post-conflict, ex-combatant communities in Liberia. The expectations received empirical support. The findings indicate that restraining and inclusive reforms could improve trust in the state’s security sector. They also demonstrate the importance of considering gender in theories related to post-conflict peace building and international relations more broadly.

Keywords: security sector reform, peacekeeping, gender, ex-combatants, state building, Liberia

Topics: Combatants, Gender, Women, Peace and Security, Post-Conflict, Peacebuilding, Peacekeeping, Security Sector Reform Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Liberia

Year: 2019

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