Gender-Based Violence

Citation:

Omotosho, Mashood, and Mariam Adebola Ogunleye. 2018. "A Feminist Perspective and the Challenge of Post Conflict Development in Africa." International Journal for Empirical Education and Research. doi:10.35935/edr/22.3619.

Author: Mashood Omotosho

Abstract:

In the last two decades, Africa has witnessed series of wars and ethno-religious conflicts with devastating impact on women. Various atrocities against women have been recorded during these conflicts and these developments have created a dangerous dimension against non-combatant women in the continent. In an attempt to resolve the conflict and armed conflict on women in the areas of sexual and gender-based violence, series of peace missions and peace building mechanism were put in place. Despite the various peace negotiations, evidence has shown that women are largely absent from formal peace negotiations and their voices are not heard both at local and continental levels especially within the modern-day challenges and post conflict development. In fact, the transformation agenda of post-conflict peace negotiations routinely failed to consider the gendered causes and consequences of armed conflict and post-conflict reconstruction. It is against this backdrop that this paper attempts to reassess the ambivalent role of women in conflict management in Africa. More importantly, the paper argues that there is need to increase women’s participation in peace talks, planning of demilitarisation, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) and determining governance and security structures, especially in conflict prone areas. Ultimately, the paper seeks to also identify challenges hindering the role and the participation of women in post conflict development in Africa.

Keywords: feminist, post conflict, Gender, violence, womanism, conflict escalation

Topics: Armed Conflict, DDR, Gender, Women, Gender-Based Violence, Post-Conflict, Post-Conflict Reconstruction, Peacebuilding, Political Participation, Peace Processes, Sexual Violence Regions: Africa

Year: 2018

Citation:

Niaz, Unaiza, and Qudsia Tariq. 2020. "Challenges in Women’s Mental Health: Care in Conflict and Post-Conflict Situations." In Mental Health and Illness of Women, edited by Pradha S. Chandra, Helen Herman, Jane Fisher, and Anita Riecher-Rössler, 109-24. Singapore: Springer, Singapore.

Authors: Unaiza Niaz, Qudsia Tariq

Abstract:

Keywords: gender based violence, healthcare services, mental health stigma, sexual violence

Topics: Armed Conflict, Economies, Poverty, Conflict, Education, Gender, Women, Gender-Based Violence, Health, Mental Health, Trauma, Justice, Political Participation, Rights, Sexual Violence, Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, Violence

Year: 2020

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

Citation:

Chilmeran, Yasmin, and Jacqui True. 2019. "The Political Economy of Gender and Peacebuilding." In Handbook on Intervention and Statebuilding, edited by Nicolas Lemay-Hébert, 323-38. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited.

Authors: Yasmin Chilmeran, Jacqui True

Abstract:

UNSCR 1325 and subsequent Security Council resolutions emphasise the importance of women’s participation in peace processes and peacebuilding to ensure the sustainability of peace and prevent the recurrence of conflict. However, in post-conflict contexts, gender inequalities are heightened, contributing to women’s vulnerability to gender-based violence and structural violence. This chapter applies a feminist political economy framework to examine women’s experiences of these forms of violence. Through an analysis of the post-occupation Iraq case we explore: (1) the political economy causes of women’s insecurity, and (2) the consequences of this insecurity for women’s participation in the peacebuilding process. We examine the types of peacebuilding women are involved in and why they are often excluded from major peacebuilding decisions with implications for the failure to adequately address conflict-related gendered violence. In particular, we consider the work that women are doing to address violence and insecurity within their communities outside of state-sanctioned processes. Above all, the case of Iraq demonstrates that there is an inextricable connection between the gendered experience of insecurity and unequal gendered forms of post-conflict participation.

Topics: Armed Conflict, Occupation, Conflict Prevention, Feminisms, Feminist Political Economy, Gender, Women, Gender-Based Violence, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Political Economies, Post-Conflict, Peacebuilding, Political Participation, Peace Processes, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS, UNSCR 1325, Violence Regions: MENA, Asia, Middle East Countries: Iraq

Year: 2019

Citation:

Veit, Alex. 2019. "Feminism in the Humanitarian Machine. Introduction to the Special Section on ‘The Politics of Intervention Against (Conflict-Related) Sexual and Gender-based Violence.’" Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding 13 (4): 401-17.

Author: Alex Veit

Abstract:

The prevention and mitigation of sexual and gender-based violence in (post-) conflict societies has become an important humanitarian activity. This introductory article examines the analytical discourses on these interventions, the institutionalization of SGBV expertise in international politics, and the emancipatory potential of anti-SGBV practices. It argues that the confluence of feminist professional activism and militarized humanitarian interventionism produced specific international activities against SGBV. As part of the institutionalization of gender themes in international politics, feminist emancipatory claims have been taken up by humanitarian organizations. The normal operating state of the humanitarian machine, however, undercuts its potential contribution to social transformation towards larger gender equality in (post-) conflict societies.

Keywords: conflict-related sexual violence, humanitarian intervention, post-conflict, liberalism, feminism, governance

Topics: Conflict, Feminisms, Gender-Based Violence, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Governance, Humanitarian Assistance, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Militarization, Post-Conflict, Sexual Violence

Year: 2019

Citation:

Reddy, Himabindu, and Annekathryn Goodman. 2019. "Gender-Based Violence after a Natural Disaster." Prehospital and Disaster Medicine 34 (1).

Authors: Himabindu Reddy, Annekathryn Goodman

Abstract:

Introduction: Gender-based violenceis endemic across theworld. The current evidence suggests that gender-based violence increases after natural disasters. Factors leading to this increase following natural disasters include physical displacement, loss of community supports and protections, economic hardship, and gendered differences in coping. Multiple agencies are mobilized in response to natural disasters, however, personnel are often not adequately trained to recognize or address gender-based violence.

Aim: To identify challenges faced by disaster responders in recognizing and responding to gender-based violence in disaster settings, and to advocate for gender-sensitive training prior to deployment by responding personnel. Methods: The world’s literature was reviewed to identify challenges for disaster teams in recognizing and responding to gender-based violence, and to identify principles of training which may be applicable for pre-deployment competency building by disaster response personnel. 

Results: Disaster response programs should ensure:
• Collection of data to identify vulnerable populations
• Establishment of procedures for monitoring and reporting
• Inclusion of female staff at all levels of planning and response
• Implementation of holistic services including physical and psychosocial care and legal response
• Safety in designing accommodations and distribution centers

Pre-Deployment training should include:
• Gender-sensitive approach, knowledge of prevalence and impact of gender-based violence
• Familiarity with behaviors and conditions associated with gender-based violence
• Non-judgmental, supportive, and validating approach to inquiry and response
• Familiarity with risk assessment tools • Mobilization of social supports
• Knowledge of resources, including medical and legal services

Discussion: Natural disasters are destabilizing events which expose vulnerable populations, particularly women, to increased violence. Disaster response teams should be adequately trained on the prevalence and impact of gender-based violence to ensure gender-sensitive interventions. Standard training of response personnel can ensure adequate identification of victims of gender-based violence and referral to appropriate services.

Topics: Displacement & Migration, Climate Displacement, Environment, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Gender-Based Violence

Year: 2019

Citation:

Al-Ali, Nadje. 2020. "Covid-19 and Feminism in the Global South: Challenges, Initiatives and Dilemmas."' European Journal of Women's Studies: 1-15. doi: 10.1177/1350506820943617. 

Author: Nadje Al-Ali

Abstract:

The article addresses the gendered implications of Covid-19 in the Global South by paying attention to the intersectional pre-existing inequalities that have given rise to specific risks and vulnerabilities. It explores various aspects of the pandemic-induced ‘crisis of social reproduction’ that affects women as the main caregivers as well as addressing the drastic increase of various forms of gender-based violence. Both, in addition to growing poverty and severely limited access to resources and health services, are particularly devastating in marginalized and vulnerable communities in the Global South. The article looks at specific regions and countries to illustrate wider challenges faced by LGBTQ populations, ethnic minorities, domestic workers, migrants and sex workers. Against the background of these gendered intersectional challenges, the article then moves to discuss feminist initiatives and mobilizations to deal with the crisis in specific local contexts as well as nationally, regionally and transnationally. It concludes by highlighting a number of visions, tensions and dilemmas faced by feminists in the Global South that will need to be taken into consideration in terms of transnational feminist solidarities.

Keywords: Africa, Asia, Covid-19 pandemic, crisis in social reproduction, Global South feminism, accumulation by dispossession, middle east, transnational feminism

Topics: Domestic Violence, Ethnicity, Feminisms, Gender, Women, Gender-Based Violence, Health, Intersectionality, LGBTQ, Livelihoods, Sexual Livelihoods Regions: Africa, MENA, Americas, Caribbean countries, Central America, South America, Asia, Middle East

Year: 2020

Citation:

Bista, Sapana Basnet, and Shaurabh Sharma. 2019. "Violence against Women and Girls with Disabilities during and after the 2015 Nepal Earthquake: Thematic Analysis of Qualitative Data." Lancet Global Health 7 (S45).

Authors: Sapana Basnet Bista, Shaurabh Sharma

Abstract:

Topics: Environment, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Women, Girls, Gender-Based Violence, Health, Mental Health, Sexual Violence, Violence Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: Nepal

Year: 2019

Citation:

Yoshihama, Mieko, Tomoko Yunomae, Azumi Tsuge, Keiko Ikeda, and Reiko Masai. 2019. "Violence Against Women and Children Following the 2011 Great East Japan Disaster: Making the Invisible Visible Through Research." Violence Against Women 25 (7): 862-81.

Authors: Mieko Yoshihama, Tomoko Yunomae, Azumi Tsuge, Keiko Ikeda, Reiko Masai

Abstract:

This study reports on 82 unduplicated cases of violence against women and children after the Great East Japan Disaster of March 2011. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire from informants who worked with the disaster-affected populations. In addition to domestic violence, reported cases involved sexual assault and unwanted sexual contact, including quid pro quo assault perpetrated by nonintimates. Perpetrators often exploited a sense of fear, helplessness, and powerlessness and used threats to force compliance with sexual demands in exchange for life-sustaining resources. Findings point to the urgent need to develop measures to prevent and respond to postdisaster gender-based violence.

Keywords: domestic and sexual violence, gender-based violence, disaster and humanitarian emergencies

Topics: Domestic Violence, Environment, Environmental Disasters, Gender-Based Violence, Sexual Violence, Violence Regions: Asia, East Asia Countries: Japan

Year: 2019

Citation:

Nguyen, Huong Thu. 2019. "Gendered Vulnerabilities in Times of Natural Disasters: Male-to-Female Violence in the Philippines in the Aftermath of Super Typhoon Haiyan." Violence Against Women 25 (4): 421-40.

Author: Huong Thu Nguyen

Abstract:

The precarious situation faced by women and girls in the wake of climate-related disasters is illustrated through fieldwork conducted in Eastern Visayas in the Philippines, one of the regions most affected by Super Typhoon Haiyan in 2013. However, this article illustrates that these heightened levels of gendered violence faced by women and girls are not a result of the disaster alone; rather, they are rooted in the inequalities inherent in the social construction of gender prior to the catastrophe, which then become sharpened as efforts to survive become more urgent.

Keywords: violence against women and girls, natural disasters, vulnerabilities

Topics: Environment, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Women, Girls, Gender-Based Violence, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality Regions: Asia, Southeast Asia Countries: Philippines

Year: 2019