SV against Women

Citation:

Abdullah, Hussaina J. 2017."Women and the African Peace and Security Architecture." African Peacebuilding Network Working Paper 12, Social Science Research Council, New York.

Author: Hussaina J. Abdullah

Annotation:

Topics: Armed Conflict, Civil Society, Conflict, Gender, Gender-Based Violence, Gender Mainstreaming, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Governance, Post-Conflict Governance, International Organizations, Peace and Security, Post-Conflict, Post-Conflict Reconstruction, Peacebuilding, Peace Processes, Rights, Human Rights, Women's Rights, Sexual Violence, SV against Women, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS Regions: Africa

Year: 2017

Citation:

Bamidele, Seun. 2017. “War, Sex and Justice: Barriers to Gender Justice in Post-Conflict Liberia.” International Journal of Criminal Justice Sciences 12 (1): 69-82.

Author: Seun Bamidele

Abstract:

The literature on the sexual violence (SV) in many arms-ravaged countries offers a gruesome and horrific narrative of how the feminine sex has become a victim of such conflict. The literature relates how women were both victims and weapons of war in both physical and psychological ways. However, the literature contains very little relating to the issues of sexual justice for victims as well as perpetrators. In Liberia, years of conflict and abuses against women have been given great attention, but little has been said about regimes of reparation, rehabilitation, and compensation for the victims of war. While there were attempts to ensure that victims of war be systematically compensated and rehabilitated as in Rwanda, the Liberian experience left much to be desired in this respect. The reason for this deserves investigation. Although there are traditional and contemporary barriers barring access to sexual justice in many developing countries, Liberia included, efforts to achieve sexual assault justice in post-conflict societies remain very sensitive for the reason that they may inadvertently lead to stigmatization. The social deficit resulting from this failure has yet to be analyzed in many states. Similarly, a systemically dysfunctional judicial process cannot serve as an agency of remedy. This system is usually expensive to service and maintain. This is coupled with a loss of faith in government and its institutions by the victims. As a combination of weak judicial institutions and social and economic impediments limits the prospects of a sexual justice, this study assesses sexual justice in post-conflict Bahn and Nimba County in Liberia. It examines the broader implications, as it raises questions about the relevance of the regime of justice on the Bahn and Nimba County victims and the perpetrator and draw lessons from this experience.

Keywords: conflict, sexual violence, Sexual Justice, women, Liberia

Topics: Armed Conflict, Gender, Women, Gender-Based Violence, Governance, Post-Conflict Governance, Justice, Post-Conflict, Sexual Violence, SV against Women, Weapons /Arms Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Liberia

Year: 2017

Citation:

Motoyama, Hisako. 2018. “Formulating Japan’s UNSCR 1325 National Action Plan and Forgetting the ‘Comfort Women.’” International Feminist Journal of Politics 20 (1): 39–53.

Author: Hisako Motoyama

Abstract:

In September 2015, the Japanese government announced its first national action plan (NAP) to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1325, just ten days after forcefully legislating controversial security bills that would effectively lift the constitutional restrictions on overseas exercise of military force. Why did the conservative administration embrace Resolution 1325 while propelling militarization? This paper examines the formulation process of Japan’s NAP, focusing on gendered struggle over remilitarization and war memory, especially that of the “comfort women,” or Japanese imperial military sexual slavery during World War II. I will examine how post–Cold War remilitarization in Japan was closely intertwined with the struggle over war memory and the gender order of the nation, and how the conservative administration embraced international gender equality norms in an attempt to identify itself as a powerful liberal democracy engaged in maintaining the international security order, and to erase the memory of imperial military sexual violence in the past. By doing so, I attempt to critically reconsider the framework of the UN Women, Peace and Security agenda, which constructs powerful developed nations “not in conflict” as innocent supporters of women in conflict zones.

Keywords: Security Council Resolution 1325, women, peace and security, military sexual violence, imperialism, militarization

Topics: Democracy / Democratization, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Peace and Security, International Organizations, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Militarization, Security, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS, UNSCR 1325, Sexual Violence, Sexual Slavery, SV against Women Regions: Asia, East Asia Countries: Japan

Year: 2018

Citation:

Beoku-Betts, Josephine. 2016. “Holding African States to Task on Gender and Violence: Domesticating UNSCR 1325 in the Sierra Leone National Action Plan.” Current Sociology Monograph 64 (4): 654–70.

Author: Josephine Beoku-Betts

Abstract:

Keywords: peace-building, sexual violence, Sierra Leone, UNSCR 1325, women's political activism, Militantisme politique féminin, promotion de la paix, RCSNU 1325, violence sexuelle, activismo político de mujeres, consolidación de la paz, Resolución 1325 del Consejo de Seguridad de las Naciones Unidas, violencia sexual

Topics: Domestic Violence, Economies, Poverty, Gender, Gender-Based Violence, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Peace and Security, International Organizations, NGOs, Rights, Women's Rights, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS, UNSCR 1325, Sexual Violence, SV against Women Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Sierra Leone

Year: 2016

Citation:

Aroussi, Sahla. 2017. "Women, Peace, and Security and the DRC: Time to Rethink Wartime Sexual Violence as Gender-Based Violence?" Politics & Gender 13(3): 488-515. 

Author: Sahla Aroussi

Abstract:

During armed conflicts, women experience extensive gender harm of a physical, sexual, legal, economic, social, cultural, and political nature. Recently, however, we have witnessed unprecedented attention in international law and policy-making arenas to the specific issue of sexual violence as a strategy of warfare. This has been particularly obvious in the agenda on women, peace, and security. Since 2008, the United Nations agenda has increasingly and repeatedly focused on sexual violence in armed conflicts in several Security Council resolutions, calling on and pressuring member states and international agencies to address this issue using militaristic and legalistic strategies. In this article, looking particularly at the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), I argue that the prioritization of sexual harm over other forms of gender harm has had a detrimental impact on women living in aid-dependent societies, and the international obsession with sexual harm has delivered neither justice nor security for victims in the DRC. The article concludes that in order to effectively address sexual violence, we have to rethink sexual harm as gender harm and start listening and responding to women's actual needs and priorities on the ground.

Topics: Armed Conflict, Gender, Women, Gender-Based Violence, Conflict, Peace and Security, International Law, International Organizations, Justice, Peacebuilding, Security, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS, Sexual Violence, SV against Women Regions: Africa, Central Africa Countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo

Year: 2017

Citation:

Basu, Soumita, and Laura J. Shepherd. 2018. "Prevention in Pieces: Representing Conflict in the Women, Peace and Security Agenda." Global Affairs 3(4-5): 441-453.

Authors: Soumita Basu, Laura J. Shepherd

Abstract:

The Women, Peace and Security agenda is often operationalized across three priority areas: the participation of women in peace and security governance; the protection of women’s rights and bodies (specifically, but not limited to, conflict-related sexual violence); and the prevention of conflict. In this short paper, we explore violence prevention in more detail, and argue that it is of critical importance to define conflict as well as prevention. We draw on the illustrative examples of Australia, the UK and India to explain how this definitional work happens within the machinery of the state and the networks of civil society. Understanding how conflict is theorized by different actors in different locations not only gives insight into the tendency towards militarization in the WPS agenda but also can be interpreted as a manifestation of contestation over ownership of the WPS agenda and its location between the state and civil society.

Keywords: women, peace and security, UNSCR 1325, National Action Plans

Topics: Civil Society, Conflict Prevention, Gender, Women, Conflict, Peace and Security, Governance, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Militarization, Rights, Women's Rights, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS, UNSCR 1325, Sexual Violence, SV against Women, Violence Regions: Asia, South Asia, Europe, Northern Europe, Oceania Countries: Australia, India, United Kingdom

Year: 2018

Citation:

Deere, Carmen Diana, Jacqueline Contreras, and Jennifer Twyman. 2o14.  “Patrimonial Violence: A Study of Women’s Property Rights in Ecuador.” Latin American Perspectives 41 (1): 143–65.

Authors: Carmen Diana Deere, Jacqueline Contreras, Jennifer Twyman

Abstract:

Patrimonial violence, defined minimally as the violation of women’s property rights, is increasingly recognized as a form of gender violence, along with physical, psychological, and sexual violence. Research in Ecuador on the extent to which women are aware of their property rights and the situations in which patrimonial violence is most likely to occur shows that, while most women seem to be aware of certain fundamentals, there are many misconceptions, particularly regarding the status of individual property. Women’s lack of legal knowledge often undermines their ability to obtain their rightful share of the division of property upon separation, divorce, or widowhood. Moreover, patrimonial violence is often aggravated by the presence of other forms of violence against women.

Keywords: gender violence, women's property rights, assets, Ecuador

Topics: Gender, Women, Gender-Based Violence, Gendered Power Relations, Rights, Property Rights, Sexual Violence, SV against Women, Violence Regions: Americas, South America Countries: Ecuador

Year: 2014

Citation:

Renzulli, Isobel. 2017. "'Women and Peace': A Human Rights Strategy for the Women, Peace and Security Agenda." Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights 35 (4): 210-29.

Author: Isobel Renzulli

Abstract:

UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and the successive thematic resolutions together with a variety of reports have shaped the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda. The ensuing policies and institutional responses try to deal with a variety of issues including women’s participation in peace-making initiatives and protection from sexual violence during armed conflict and in its aftermath. As such these responses are underpinned by a reactive approach with a focus on conflict and post-conflict gender-sensitive areas of intervention. While these remain worthwhile interventions, the WPS agenda, in spite of its name, inadequately addresses gender-sensitive areas in peace situations, regardless of the existence of conflicts. Building on feminist critiques of the WPS agenda and the findings and recommendations of the 2015 UN Global study on the implementation of Resolution 1325, the article argues that the WSP agenda and its prevention limb need to elaborate and integrate more explicitly and comprehensively a human rights strategy that shifts the focus from a reactive to a proactive model, one which pursues gender equality and women’s human rights in its own right, irrespective of whether conflicts erupt or not. A human rights infused WPS preventive agenda should be premised, on the one hand, on a clear understanding and endorsement of the meaning of gender equality, on the other hand, on the creation of mechanisms and process bolstering the role of international and regional human rights regimes. In particular, robust regional human rights systems have the potential to create fora for the participation of and interaction with domestic constituencies in the region. This in turn could lead to the elaboration of context sensitive, participatory solutions, grounded in international human rights law, to existing forms of discrimination against women, which during conflicts may be exacerbated, for example, in the form of sexual enslavement and abductions as reported in recent and less recent conflicts.

Keywords: women, peace and security, feminist activism, human rights, UN, African Union, Arab League

Topics: Armed Conflict, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Peace and Security, Rights, Human Rights, Women's Rights, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS, UNSCR 1325, Sexual Violence, Sexual Slavery, SV against Women, Violence

Year: 2017

Citation:

Sapir, Debarati Guha. 1993. "Natural and Man-Made Disasters: The Vulnerability of Women-Headed Households and Children Without Families." World Health Statistics Quarterly 46 (4): 227-33.

Author: Debarati Guha Sapir

Abstract:

Since 1980, over 2 million people have died as an immediate result of natural and man-made disasters and by 1992, the refugee population registered nearly 16 million people. This article reviews the human impact of disasters as a composite of two elements: the catastrophic event itself and the vulnerability of people. It also examines the specific case of women and children in the current world emergency context. It identifies four broad policy areas that affect women and children in disaster situations and discusses them with examples and field evidence. The first policy area addresses humanitarian assistance and armed conflicts, and armed conflict and international humanitarian law, the use of food as instrument of war, mines and civilian disability, and rape and sexual violence are discussed within this context. The second problem discussed is the issue of unaccompanied and abandoned children in terms of its magnitude and implications for relief response. Thirdly, the article examines the differential risks in emergencies for mortality and morbidity, specifically for women and children. Finally, it addresses certain policies and approaches to disaster rehabilitation which effectively mirror and reinforce inherent inequities in the affected society. The article notes that: (i) the largest proportion of disaster victims today arise from civil strife and food crises and that the majority of those killed, wounded and permanently disabled are women and children; and (ii) the ability of any country to respond effectively to disasters depends on the strength of its health and social infrastructure, and its overall developmental status. It concludes by identifying seven areas where concrete measures could be taken to improve the current situation.

Topics: Age, Youth, Armed Conflict, Displacement & Migration, Refugees, Environment, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Women, Girls, Boys, International Law, International Humanitarian Law (IHL), Humanitarian Assistance, Post-Conflict, Sexual Violence, Rape, SV against Women

Year: 1993

Citation:

Carrillo Franco, Blanca Estela, Emma Zapata Martelo, and Verónica Vázquez García. “Violencia de género hacia mujeres del Frente de Pueblos en Defensa de la Tierra.” Política y cultura, no. 32 (2009): 127–147.

Authors: Blance Estela Carillo Franco, Emma Zapata Martelo, Verónica Vázquez García

Abstract:

En este artículo se aborda la represión que sufrieron por parte del Estado las mujeres integrantes del Frente de Pueblos en Defensa de la Tierra (FPDT), cuando se movilizaron para defender sus tierras. Mediante reconstrucción y análisis de las memorias que ellas guardan del suceso, se propone reflexionar cómo el Estado utiliza la violencia de género como estrategia para frenar la participación de las mujeres. Se parte de información testimonial y observación participante en espacios organizativos del FPDT para explicar cómo la intervención en este movimiento las ha llevado a sufrir violencia de género y tortura sexualizada. Asimismo, se expone cómo pudieron superar la experiencia que implicó la persecución política hacia el movimiento. (Abstract from original source)

This article analyzes the way in which the female members of the social movement Frente de Pueblos en Defensa de la Tierra (FPDT) have experienced state violence. Through oral testimonies and field work into organizative spaces of the FPDT, we show how women’s political participation has helped them overcome the experience of gender violence and political persecution, including sexual violation and torture. (English provided by original source)

Topics: Political Participation, Rights, Land Rights, Sexual Violence, SV against Women, Torture, Sexual Torture Regions: Americas, North America Countries: Mexico

Year: 2009