Gender-Based Violence

Investigating the Role of Government Legislation and its Implementation in Addressing Gender-Based Violence Among Returnee Refugee Women in Liberia

Citation:

Yacob-Haliso, Olajumoke. 2012. "Investigating the Role of Government Legislation and its Implementation in Addressing Gender-Based Violence Among Returnee Refugee Women in Liberia.” Wagadu: A Journal of Transnational Women's and Gender Studies 10 (Spring): 132-49.

Author: Olajumoke Yacob-Haliso

Abstract:

Empirical evidence has demonstrated that in contemporary wars, women and children bear the brunt of the violence unleashed in the form of killings, abductions, and various forms of gendered violence. This research investigates the ways in which returnee refugee women in post war Liberia experience gender-based violence in their everyday lives. It also investigates the role of governmental agencies in addressing this violence and the implications of all these for the reintegration of returnee women and peace in the country generally. To this end, fieldwork was carried out in Liberia employing in-depth and semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, document review, and observation. One hundred persons participated in the study including returnee women across the country, community leaders, and NGO and government staff. The research was framed within human rights theory, which locates women's rights within human rights and provides practitioners and disadvantaged women alike a vocabulary to frame political and social wrongs. The responses indicate that returnee refugee women in Liberia continue to confront generalized and gender-specific violence. The implementation of government legislation such as the new rape law continue to encumber the drive to tackle gender-based violence (GBV) while other initiatives such as a national GBV taskforce move the country in the right direction. The implications are that reintegration of returnee refugee women remains slow and, although women constitute a remarkable proportion of government, most returnee women have yet to find meaningful ways of contributing to the success of the nascent political order.

Keywords: female refugees, sexual violence, human rights, gender-based violence, legislation, women's rights

Annotation:

Quotes:
 
"In the current early 'post conflict' period in Liberia, returnee refugee women experience both generalized violence and certain gender-specific forms of aggression. The general forms of violence which affect returnee refugee women, too, include armed robbery, fear of attack by armed robbers (referred to as Isakabba), physical assault such as battery, intimidation, murder of family members, child abuse, and ritual killings. Sometimes, the experience is of tribal attacks, especially in those areas of the country where the war was fought on tribal terms." (138)
 
"It must be noted that even with violence that seems general and gender-neutral, such as armed robbery, an underlying gender vulnerability can be detected because more often than not, single women or female-headed households tend to be targeted and more frequently, too, than male-headed households." (139)
 
"In terms of gender-based or gender-specific forms of violence, returnee women interviewed in different parts of Liberia report the prevalence of rape, sexual exploitation, incest, sexual harassment, domestic abuse, ritualistic killings, teenage pregnancy, and female-genital mutilation." (139)
 
“Especially remarkable is the “new” rape law (Government of Liberia, 2005) that was enacted by the National Transitional Legislature on December 29, 2005, on the eve of handing over to the newly elected democratic government….The law specifies that rape, under certain conditions, is a felony of the first degree and when so determined can carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. For the first time, 'rape' is legally defined and penalty attached to the commission of the offence. Furthermore, the law recognizes and penalizes gang rape and includes also acts of sexual abuse of girls under the legal age of consent – 18 years of age." (141)
 
"Field work for this research further discovered that, as at the time of data collection, modality for the implementation of the rape law was still hazy and largely disputable." (142)
 
"An additional revelation was the interpretation given by the Ministry of Justice to the stipulation of the law that “the trial of all cases under section 14.70 shall be heard in camera.” It was learnt that 'in camera' does not mean that nobody but the judge will be in the court room. On the contrary, in addition to the judge, the jury, the defendant/s and his/their lawyer/s, the victim, the witnesses, and other court officials will also be present. In fact, the rape case will be held in open court, a situation that denies and definitely adds to the victim’s suffering." (143)
 
"In addition to the above shortcomings, various NGO, UN, and government staff interviewed cited the absence of the government in certain areas as contributory factors in the prevalence of gender-based violence in the post-war country. This implies that the government is absent to provide security as well as absent to monitor abuses. Also frustrating for victims, their families, and human rights workers is the crippled justice system." (143)
 
"Because returnee women are preoccupied with maintaining physical survival and security, they report that they are unable to follow and/or participate in political processes that would have increased their identification with the political system." (144)
 
"The impact of violence is such that it also bequeaths psychological instabilities that detract from returnee women’s social reintegration. Generalized and gender-specific forms of violence deny women access to social services and other productive resources that would otherwise benefit them and contribute to their reintegration." (145)
 
“Unfortunately, too many of the returnees interviewed in Liberia indicated their regret at return and their willingness to go back to the country of exile if given the means." (145)
 

Topics: Displacement & Migration, Refugees, Gender, Women, Gender-Based Violence, NGOs, Rights, Human Rights, Women's Rights, Sexual Violence, Rape, SV against Women Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Liberia

Year: 2012

Who Really Protects Civilians?

Citation:

Bonwick, Andrew. 2006. "Who Really Protects Civilians?" Development in Practice 16 (3): 270-277.

Author: Andrew Bonwick

Abstract:

Current debate tends to suggest that the protection of civilians is something 'done to' the passive recipients of international largesse. Whether in terms of macro-level interventions of the UN Security Council or micro-level attempts to reduce the negative side effects of relief action, those in need of protection are rarely seen as key players in their own futures. Although this type of external intervention can be valuable, it fails to take complete account of how people manage to survive the effects of conflicts. This concept of protection seriously under-estimates the resourcefulness of people who have no choice, and using it to define protection results in missed opportunities to help communities as they are being forced to adapt to their new realities. Effective humanitarian action will thus not only focus on the actions of those with a responsibility to protect, but will also support and strengthen the rational decisions that people themselves take to try to ensure their own safety in conflict.

Keywords: civilians, protection, intervention

Topics: Armed Conflict, Gender, Women, Gender-Based Violence, Humanitarian Assistance, Security, Human Security, Sexual Violence

Year: 2006

Rape as a Weapon of War in Libya: New Permutations on an Old Theme

Citation:

Marshall, Lucinda. 2011. "Rape as a Weapon of War in Libya: New Permutations on an Old Theme." Peace and Freedom 71 (2): 24.

Author: Lucinda Marshall

Abstract:

Earlier this year, when reports began to surface alleging the use of Viagra-like drugs to encourage Libyan troops to rape women as a tactic in their fight with Libyan rebels, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) called for a complete investigation into the charges, and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she was "deeply concerned." In Iraq, the number of honor killings rose dramatically after the U.S. invasion and, more recently, in Tehran, women protesting the government have been attacked. In Congo, women in refugee camps are gang-raped with impunity. In Burma, the army uses rape as a weapon of terror in their fight with Shan forces. In Bosnia and Rwanda, there were mass rapes. In the U.S. military, female soldiers are more likely to be attacked by male soldiers than by any enemy. One hundred forty-eight countries signed The Rome Statute, which established the Court. Seven nations voted against it, including the U.S. and Libya. It is therefore supremely ironic that the U.S. pushed for the ICC s prosecution of Libyan war crimes. But make no mistake, the U.S. does not consider itself bound by the ICC s jurisdiction, which would leave it quite obviously vulnerable to prosecution for such things as Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, and the rape of servicewomen within the ranks of its own military.

Keywords: sexual violence, international criminal court, rape, war rape

Annotation:

 
 

Topics: Armed Conflict, Displacement & Migration, Refugee/IDP Camps, Gender, Women, Gender-Based Violence, International Law, International Criminal Law, Justice, Impunity, War Crimes, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Militaries, Security, Sexual Violence, Rape, SV against Women Regions: Africa, North Africa, Americas, North America Countries: Libya, United States of America

Year: 2011

Rape as Weapon of War in the Eastern DRC? The Victims' Perspective

Citation:

Maedl, Anna. 2011. "Rape as Weapon of War in the Eastern DRC? The Victims' Perspective." Human Rights Quarterly 33 (1): 128-47.

Author: Anna Maedl

Abstract:

Rampant sexual violence is one of the most horrendous human rights abuses taking place within Democratic Republic of the Congo's (DRC) armed conflict. The UN has called these abuses "strategic" and a "weapon of war." Both labels carry specific implications within the human rights discourse. However, there is a lack of structured data exploring these concepts in the context of the DRC. To address this empirical gap, twenty-five rape survivors were interviewed. In the eyes of the victims the rapes served a multitude of different purposes and appear to be both endemic and indiscriminate. The rapes are the modus operandi of the war.

Keywords: sexual violence, rape, war rape, weapon of war

Annotation:

Quotes:
 
"To address this analytical and empirical gap, twenty-five rape survivors were interviewed by clinical psychologists using a structured protocol. The participants were asked about a) basic socioeconomic data about their lives before the rape, b) data on the alleged perpetrators and their courses of action during the rape, c) the perceived reasons for the rape, and d) further victims of the crime (e.g. people who were forced to watch, beaten, abducted, killed, or also raped)." (129)
 
"No woman reported that there was a single offender: 31.8 percent of the women were attacked by two to four combatants, 18.2 percent by five to ten, 13.6 percent by eleven to twenty, and 36.4 percent of the women were attacked by more than twenty combatants." (139)
 
"Additionally, some authors have suggested that gang rapes serve internal group purposes. They could establish hierarchy within armed groups, i.e. the highest man in the hierarchy rapes a woman first and so on, and they are thought to increase male group bonding through the common experience of rape and to overcome moral barriers through group pressure. The data suggests that armed groups organize and act together to rape civilian women. This practice can hence be described as a deliberate pattern of action. However, in order to call it a strategy or weapon of war, the motives or aims this strategy is meant to serve would have to be clarified." (141)
 
"Almost half of the perpetrators are thought to have been on drugs or drunk while they raped their victims. The use of drugs has also been reported by FARDC soldiers and it has been alleged that child combatants are forced to take drugs. Marijuana is grown (possibly in large quantities) in the territory of Uvira by the FDLR. There are also reports from other conflicts, such as Bosnia-Herzegovina, that women have frequently been raped by combatants who were under the influence of alcohol. To understand whether and how rape is used as weapon of war, it may be of importance to clarify if psychoactive substances serve a specific function within this context. They could, for example, be used to overcome moral barriers, or the substances themselves could be sexually stimulating and foster aggression. In this context it would also be important to know whether their superiors give combatants drugs or alcohol." (141-142)
 
"Many women could clearly confirm that there was a hierarchical structure within the group of attackers, i.e. these women could hear someone giving orders or identify one of the perpetrators as being a superior of the others. This observation is highly relevant, because it provides evidence that the rapes are perpetrated as a military activity and are an inherent part of the groups’ conduct. It further shows that superiors could be held responsible for the behavior of their groups." (142)
 
"In the eyes of most women there were multiple reasons why they were raped. These included strategic purposes, as well as opportunistic behavior. To displace communities, instill fear within them, to punish them, as well as to gain or destroy magical power could be seen as strategic objectives. The first two ranked highest amongst the participants’ answers. Fewer women than expected reported that the rapes were to punish their communities. Often the women did not consider their communities to be parties in any way to the conflict." (145)
 
"To transmit diseases (like HIV/AIDS) and to impregnate women are also deemed strategic objectives of rape. Taken together, 57 percent of the women thought that these were reasons why they were raped. If these are indeed strategic objectives of sexual abuse, the long-term goals behind such strategies must be clarified." (145)
 
"Furthermore, almost one-third of the women believed that the combatants raped them to be sexually relieved and 19 percent thought that they were raped “just for fun.” Though these explanations were not given as often as others, their frequency is still alarming and points to the enormity of the culture of violence and sexism present in the Eastern DRC. Women themselves are considered a 'lootable resource.'" (145)

Topics: Armed Conflict, Combatants, Male Combatants, Gender, Gender-Based Violence, Gendered Power Relations, Health, HIV/AIDS, International Organizations, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Rights, Human Rights, Women's Rights, Security, Sexual Violence, Rape, SV against Women Regions: Africa, Central Africa Countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo

Year: 2011

Women War Survivors of the 1989-2003 Conflict in Liberia: The Impact of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence

Citation:

Liebling-Kalifani, Helen, Victoria Mwaka, Ruth Ojiambo-Ochieng, Juliet Were-Oguttu, Eugene Kinyanda, Deddeh Kwekwe, Lindora Howard, and Cecilia Danuweli. 2011. "Women War Survivors of the 1989-2003 Conflict in Liberia: The Impact of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence." Journal of International Women's Studies 12 (1): 1-21.

Authors: Helen Liebling-Kalifani, Victoria Mwaka, Ruth Ojiambo-Ochieng, Juliet Were-Oguttu, Eugene Kinyanda, Deddeh Kwekwe, Lindora Howard, Cecilia Danuweli

Abstract:

This article presents a summary of the qualitative data from research carried out in post-conflict Liberia by Isis-WICCE, a women's international non-government organisation, in conjunction with the Ministry of Gender and Development of Liberia and Women in Peace-building Network, WIPNET. Analysis of research findings detail women's experiences of conflict and the serious effects of sexual violence and torture on their physical and psychological health. The paper also describes the omission of women from justice and rehabilitation processes. In support of women participants' views, the author's recommend that funding is urgently required for the provision of holistic and sustainable, gender- sensitive services. Additional recommendations are made with respect to health, justice and policy changes in line with enhancing women survivor's roles and utilising their skills and resilience.

Annotation:

Quotes:

"The rates of sexual violence were higher amongst former combatants; 42.3%, amongst women combatants and 32.6% amongst male combatants." (9)

"The most visited health facility for psychological problems and surgical problems related to war were the private run clinics. However, significant numbers utilised self medication, traditional healers, local health centres and district hospitals. A tenth of the participants had not sought any treatment at all for their psychological problems. Participants described government health facilities as not having the necessary professional expertise to handle the psychosocial consequences of war as well as the emerging epidemic of domestic violence." (11-12)

"It was also observed that the DDRR largely failed to meet a large number of women's and girls' needs compared to men's and boys'. Thousands of women and girls formally associated with the fighting forces did not participate in the DDRR for reasons such as misinformation, lack of knowledge and understanding about the process, manipulation by commanders, lack of funding, lack of political will to ensure a gender-based approach, shame and fear. Some of the women that did participate were said to have been harassed by UN designated officials during the disarmament phase, including being ridiculed or hit whilst trying to disarm. Amnesty International (2008a) reported that some women did not benefit unless they were prepared to have sex with their commander. The programme failed to meet the needs of many women and girl combatants and did not ensure that their participation was proportional to their actual level of involvement. Many women were said to have failed to fully benefit from the rehabilitation and reintegration phase because the programme largely failed to acknowledge and address stigma and shame as a barrier to their participation, as well as taking into account adequate understandings of women's and girl's war experiences (Amnesty International, 2008a)." (14)

Topics: Armed Conflict, Gender, Women, Gender-Based Violence, Governance, Post-Conflict Governance, Health, Mental Health, Reproductive Health, International Organizations, Post-Conflict Reconstruction, Rights, Women's Rights, Sexual Violence, Rape, SV against Women, Torture, Sexual Torture Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Liberia

Year: 2011

Toward Freedom from Domestic Violence: The Neglected Obvious

Citation:

Agarwal, Bina, and Pradeep Panda. 2007. “Toward Freedom from Domestic Violence: The Neglected Obvious.” Journal of Human Development and Capabilities 8 (3): 359-88.

Authors: Bina Agarwal, Pradeep Panda

Abstract:

Freedom is a key concept in Amartya Sen’s definitions of capabilities and development. This paper focuses on a serious and neglected form of unfreedom — domestic violence — and argues that freedom from such violence must be integral to evaluating developmental progress. Conceptually, it notes that a person’s well-being can depend not only on absolute measures of capabilities and functionings but also on relative capabilities and functionings within families; and this can even lead to perverse effects. A man married to a woman better employed than himself, for instance, may be irked by her higher achievement and physically abuse her, thus reducing her well-being achievement (e.g. by undermining her health) and her well-being freedom (e.g. by reducing her work mobility or social interaction). Empirically the paper focuses especially on a hitherto unexplored factor — a woman’s property status — and demonstrates that owning a house or land significantly reduces her risk of marital violence. Employment, by contrast, unless it is regular, makes little difference. Immovable property provides a woman economic and physical security, enhances her self-esteem, and visibly signals the strength of her fall-back position and tangible exit option. It can both deter violence and provide an escape if violence occurs. Also unlike employment, property ownership is not found to be associated with perverse outcomes, in that a propertied woman married to a propertyless man is not subject to greater violence.

Keywords: domestic violence, women's property status, capabilities and functions, freedom, well-being

Topics: Development, Gender, Women, Gender-Based Violence, Rights, Property Rights, Women's Rights, Violence

Year: 2007

Gender-Based Violence and Property Grabbing in Africa: A Denial of Women’s Security and Liberty

Citation:

Izumi, Kaori. 2007.”Gender-Based Violence and Property Grabbing in Africa: A Denial of Women’s Security and Liberty.” Gender and Development 15 (1): 11-23.

Author: Kaori Izumi

Abstract:

Property grabbing is a new form of gendered violence against women, threatening the security of women across Southern and East Africa. Forced evictions are often accompanied by further acts of violence, including physical and mental harassment, and abuse. Widows are particularly vulnerable, partly as a result of weakened customary practice and social safety nets that used to provide support to widowed women and their children, a situation made worse by the HIV and AIDS epidemic. Defending their property has cost some women their lives, while other women have lost their shelter and source of livelihoods, and have become destitute. The harassment and humiliation that often accompany property grabbing further strip women of their self-esteem, affecting their ability to defend their rights.

Keywords: gendered violence, insecurity, physical abuse, mental harassment, women's rights, Property grabbing

Topics: Economies, Gender, Women, Gender-Based Violence, Health, HIV/AIDS, Mental Health, Land Grabbing, Rights, Land Rights, Women's Rights, Security, Human Security Regions: Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa

Year: 2007

Promoting Gender Equality Through Development: Land Ownership and Domestic Violence in Nicaragua

Citation:

Arenas, Carlos, and Shelly Grabe. 2009. “Promoting Gender Equality Through Development: Land Ownership and Domestic Violence in Nicaragua.” Working Paper, Gender, Development, and Globalization Program, Center for Gender in Global Context, Michigan State University, East Lansing.

Authors: Carlos Arenas, Shelly Grabe

Abstract:

This study takes into account global debates surrounding women’s role in development and how access to resources impacts the structures that perpetuate gender inequalities. For example, scholars have argued that women’s ownership of and control over resources are linked to gender-based violence. This paper provides a theoretical framework for, and an examination of, the role of land ownership in women’s empowerment and receipt of domestic violence that has been posed in the literature but never empirically tested. Household surveys conducted in rural Nicaragua reveal that land ownership is directly related to women’s status and power within the marital relationship and to their empowerment and psychological well-being, each of which explained why and how owning land contributed to lower levels of domestic violence. The findings have important implications for the discussion of gender-based violence in the context of development involving land resources, as well as for initiatives that can improve women’s well-being and lead to more equitable policies for women.

Keywords: development, domestic violence, gender empowerment, gender relations, women's land rights, gender violence

Annotation:

  • Bina Agarwal (1994) first put forward the connection between property ownership and domestic violence, but since then, very little empirical investigation has been done to advance this research. This paper investigates how women’s land ownership is related to domestic violence and how it is not simply about owning land, rather it is the process that develops as a result of women’s altered status within the household that has the critical bearing on their receipt of violence.
  • The article is significant both because it is the only paper on land rights and domestic violence with a geographic focus of Latin America, and because it contributes to our empirical understanding of the connection between women’s land rights and incidence of domestic violence.
  • Systemic differences in land rights between men and women create structural inequalities that may contribute to the alarmingly high rates of domestic violence for women. It discusses how women’s land ownership challenges power and gender relations.

Quotes:

“[The authors] specifically aimed to test whether land ownership would result in a shift in traditional gender ideology, a shift in intra-household gender relations, and an increase in women’s empowerment and psychological well-being, thereby curbing levels of domestic violence.” (2)

“Processes involved in owning and controlling land can transform the conditions in which women can exercise agency and, in turn, be empowered to confront aspects of their subordination.” (2)

“Throughout Latin America, and in Nicaragua in particular, domestic violence has been recognized as a public health problem with national prevalence estimates indicating that between 28 and 69 percent of women in Nicaragua report experiences of domestic violence.” (1)

“Land issues—who owns and controls land use—are issues of power and dominance [and] entrenched inequalities in the distribution of power and resources between women and men create a risk environment that supports high levels of gender-based violence”(3)

"Argues that land ownership is a material basis, or structural inequality, that contributes to the subordination of, and violence against, women. Women’s role as landowners therefore challenges these gendered power relations." (3)

"Because ownership of property among women substantially challenges traditional gender roles, it increases women’s power and influence within the household and, in turn, provides a stronger base for women’s empowerment. Moreover, it is not merely possessing the title to a plot of land, but the control or administration of it that contributes to change." (4)

“While benefits of several forms of land ownership are possible (e.g., cooperative farming arrangements), it is important to note that women’s effective rights to land (i.e., women functioning independently as decision makers with control over the land) are best insured with individual titles.” (4)

Topics: Development, Gender, Women, Gender-Based Violence, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Households, Rights, Land Rights, Women's Rights Regions: Americas, Central America Countries: Nicaragua

Year: 2009

Human Security and Reconstruction Efforts in Rwanda: Impact on the Lives of Women

Citation:

Gervais, Myriam. 2004. “Human Security and Reconstruction Efforts in Rwanda: Impact on the Lives of Women.” Development in Practice 13 (5): 542-550.

Author: Myriam Gervais

Abstract:

This paper evaluates the pertinence of interventions sponsored by aid agencies that seek to meet the security needs of women in post-reconstruction Rwanda. Personal security, economic security, and socio-political security are used as the main methodological reference marks and indicators. The information and data used in the paper were gathered during several visits to Rwanda in 2001 and 2002. The study reveals that efforts have brought about positive impacts on the lives of women. However, findings also show that specific strategies aimed at increasing women's security would better benefit them if they were more consistently planned so as to take into consideration the ways in which issues of poverty, gender, and security intersect.

Keywords: women's land rights, women, economic security, socio-political security, reconstruction

Annotation:

  • The author examines a sample of initiatives and evaluates how pertinent the interventions sponsored by aid agencies that seek to meet the security needs of women have been. A look at the projects undertaken in Rwanda during the reconstruction period reveals that there were two types of initiatives aimed at supporting women's efforts to respond to the crisis caused by conflict and genocide: the formation of solidarity groups and production associations, and the establishment of advocacy groups and women's collectives. These associations have also taken on the task of providing legal and medical assistance services, forming groups to assist survivors, and providing business advice. The document describes how with the collaboration of local people, some non governmental organisations (NGOs) built houses in various parts of the country and tended to the most needy. By giving priority to the most vulnerable and by making this a condition for funding, NGO projects promoted the taking into account of women's needs in housing programmes. In many cases, women signed individual contracts recognised by communal authorities. The signing of a contract between a woman, the local authority, and the NGO brought about a major change: women and girls were recognised as owners of their homes. The document then considers other issues such as economic security and socio-political security.

​Quotes:

“Promoting human security in post-conflict societies means taking specific actions that support a safe environment, social harmony, equal status, and equitable access to resources and to the decision-making process.” (542)

“Gender-based violence still remains high during reconstruction periods, proving that peace is not enough to ensure women’s security. In many cases, women are also confronted with radically changed realities: they have to assume new roles and new responsibilities at the family and community levels, and in so doing they are more susceptible to new forms of insecurity.” (543)

“Rwanda’s agriculture-based economy was completely destroyed by the war, forcing most of its population to live in a state of extreme precariousness. The food shortages caused by the destruction of crops and the severe reduction in cultivated land was aggravated by the inability of many households to obtain the labour they needed. In 1996, 34 per cent of families—with an average of six to seven young dependants— were headed by widows, unmarried women, and wives of prisoners suspected of genocide…64 per cent  of labour force in basic production is female.” (544)

“It is conventionally considered unacceptable for women to inherit from their families. Since girls who are heads of family enjoy no protection, they live in a climate of permanent insecurity and are vulnerable to attempts at intimidation and sexual assault, particularly at night.”(545)

“Following the genocide, one of the challenges for female heads of household was to secure a cultivable plot of land in order to ensure their family’s subsistence. One frequently observed way of doing this was to join an associative group.” (546)

Topics: Gender, Women, Girls, Gender-Based Violence, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Gender Equity, Genocide, Households, Livelihoods, NGOs, Post-Conflict, Post-Conflict Reconstruction, Rights, Land Rights, Property Rights, Women's Rights, Security, Human Security Regions: Africa, Central Africa, East Africa Countries: Rwanda

Year: 2004

Post-Conflict Bosnia and Herzegovina: Integrating Women's Special Situation and Gender Perspectives in Skills Training and Employment Promotion Programmes

Citation:

Walsh, Martha. 1997. Post-Conflict Bosnia and Herzegovina: Integrating Women's Special Situation and Gender Perspectives in Skills Training and Employment Promotion Programmes. Geneva: International Labor Office.

Author: Martha Walsh

Abstract:

This report is an input to the ILO Action Programme on Skills and Entrepreneurship Training for Countries Emerging from Armed Conflict. The programme has undertaken several country-level research activities of which the author's report is one example. The report examines the gendered consequences of war. They include gender role changes emanating from exigencies of the conflict-affected context; weakened community structures, cohesion and trust and their impact on women's coping strategies and vulnerability after war; increase in numbers and vulnerability of female-headed households; and greater differences between men and women in their opportunities in the post war labour market. The limited focus men receive in programmes set up to tackle war-related physiological traumas could add to the high level of male violence against women in postwar households. The report also shows how prewar differences amongst women influence the impact of war on them, as well as how other causes of vulnerability, such as ethnicity, disability and age, need to be tackled in post war technical assistance projects. The study finds that ongoing postwar projects do not contribute substantially to empowering women, nor do they target women's strategic needs. Whilst many women's organisations exist in the country, the extent of their contribution is limited since they do not engage in the public arena. The report makes a number of proposals regarding policy and programme to guide future action.

Annotation:

Quotes:

“The way in which men and women experience and deal with the consequences of conflict depends on gender roles and relations prior to the conflict and how they were renegotiated during wartime.” (2)

“...in Bosnia, where class, ethnicity, and residential status are key elements in determining a woman’s position and have proved to be a source of conflict between women and women’s organizations.” (2)

“There has always been a profound bias against rural people, which has been worsened by heavy refugee flows from rural to urban...displaced women in urban areas must compete with other groups of women, such as families of dead soldiers, for housing and other resources.” (3)

“Conflict creates a confusing and contradictory dynamic in which gender identities are reified and polarized while at the same time women’s roles are expanded into male-dominated arenas.” (4)

“The rape of women during wartime is an intentional and strategic act of brutality. It is designed to degrade women as the moral guardians of their traditions and to demoralize the community in which they live.” (9)

Topics: Armed Conflict, Ethnic/Communal Wars, Combatants, DDR, Displacement & Migration, Ethnicity, Gender, Women, Gender Roles, Gender-Based Violence, Gendered Power Relations, Health, PTSD, Trauma, Households, Livelihoods, NGOs, Post-Conflict, Post-Conflict Reconstruction, Security, Sexual Violence, SV against Women Regions: Europe, Balkans, Eastern Europe Countries: Bosnia & Herzegovina

Year: 1997

Pages

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