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Gender and Armed Conflict & Peacebuilding

 

Although most armed conflicts are fought primarily by male combatants, women and children increasingly make up the majority of victims of violence. Armed groups regularly commit violence against women all across the world.

Women play many different roles in the context of armed conflict.
Women are not just victims of armed conflict; they are also survivors, caregivers, leaders and peacemakers. They may participate in conflicts, either against their will or voluntarily, as combatants, nurses, cooks, or sex workers. Women and girls are now recruited by armed groups in many countries.

Women are particularly vulnerable to sexual crimes during armed conflict.
Sexual violence against women during conflict has recently reached epidemic proportions. Sometimes the sexual violence is opportunistic; sometimes it is used as a deliberate military and political tactic.

Women are disproportionately affected by the social and economic impacts of armed conflict.
During wartime, the responsibilities of women increase when their male relatives are on the battlefield. Women often become the main breadwinners and primary carers when male relatives are killed, injured or disabled by gun violence. Most of the world’s displaced people are women and children. In refugee camps, displaced women must contend with gun violence as they care for their families.

Family violence increases during and after conflict.
The return of combatants, many traumatized and brutalized by the conflict, can bring violence directly into the home. If men bring weapons home with them, the danger to women increases.

What can be done?
•   Enforce arms embargoes to prevent the flow of arms into conflict zones where they could contribute to violence against women.
•   Ensure that armed forces abide by the laws of war and respect women’s human rights.


More information:
Gender and Armed Conflict
Female Combatants
Gender and Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR)
Gender and Peacekeeping/Peacebuilding
Security Council Resolution 1325

 

Gender and Armed Conflict

Fact Sheets
Publications
Websites

Fact Sheets
Information Kit on Women and Armed Violence
IANSA Women’s Network, March 2006
français
español

Women and War
ICRC Fact Sheets

Adolescent girls affected by conflict
Canadian Peacebuilding Coordinating Committee Fact Sheet

Publications

L’accès facile aux armes, un facteur favorisant la violence sexuelle des femmes en temps de conflits au Burundi
Colonie des Pionniers de Développement, March 2006

Cycles of violence: gender relations and armed conflict
ACORD, 2005

Women's Bodies as a Battleground: Sexual Violence Against Women and Girls During the War in the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Kivu (1996-2003)
International Alert, 2005

Guidelines for Gender-based Violence Interventions in Humanitarian Settings - Focusing on Prevention of and Response to Sexual Violence in Emergencies
Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), September 2005

Enhancing Protection from Gender-Based Violence in Populations Affected by Armed Conflict
UNICEF/UNIFEM Workshop Report, January 2005

Lives blown apart: Crimes against women in times of conflict
Amnesty International, 2004

Colombia: Scarred bodies, hidden crimes Sexual Violence against women in the armed conflict
Amnesty International, 2004

Addressing the Needs of Women Affected by Armed Conflict
ICRC Guidance Document, 2004

Gender and Armed Conflict
Amani El Jack, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, 2003

Women, armed conflict and international law
International Committee of the Red Cross, September 2002

Websites
Amnesty International
BRIDGE
Human Rights Watch
UN-INSTRAW
UNFPA
WomenWatch

 

Female Combatants

Publications
Women in Armed Opposition Groups in Africa and the Promotion of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights

Geneva Call, August 2006

Forgotten Casualties of War: Girls in armed conflict
Save the Children, 2005

Where Are The Girls? Girls in fighting forces in Northern Uganda, Sierra Leone and Mozambique: Their lives during and after war
International Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, June 2004

Women in Armed Opposition Groups Speak on War, Protection and Obligations under International Humanitarian and Human Rights Law
Geneva Call, 2004

The Post War Moment: Female Fighters in Sierra Leone
Uppsala University, November 2005

Gender and Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR)

Publications
Gender Perspectives on D, D and R
UNIFEM, March 2005

Gender and disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR):
Building blocks for Dutch policy

Clingendael Institute, March 2005

Getting it right, doing it right: Gender and Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration
UNIFEM, October 2004

Women, men and the struggle to disarm
African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes, 2003

Gender mainstreaming in the field of disarmament
Carolyn Hannan, October 2001

 

Gender and Peacekeeping/Peacebuilding

Publications
Newsletters
Training
Websites

Publications
Gender Analysis as a Tool for Multilateral Negotiators in the Small Arms Context
UNIDIR, May 2006

Beyond Victimhood: Women’s Peacebuilding in Sudan, Congo and Uganda
International Crisis Group, 2006

Claiming space: Reconfiguring women’s roles in post-conflict situations
Institute for Security Studies, February 2006

Peace processes, guns and gender: an analysis of practice, policy and potential
Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, December 2005

Securing the Peace: Guiding the International Community towards Women’s Effective Participation throughout Peace Processes
UNIFEM, October 2005

We the women: why conflict mediation is not just a job for men
Antonia Potter, Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, October 2005

Strenthening the role of Women in Conflict Prevention
G8 Roma Initiative, July 2001

Mainstreaming a Gender Perspective in Multidimensional Peace Support Operations
Windhoek Declaration and the Namibia Plan, May 2000

Newsletters
Focus on Gender and Peacebuilding
CFD Newsletter

Training
Gender and Peacekeeping Training Course
DfID and DFAIT

Gender Resource Package for Peacekeeping Operations
United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO)

Websites
International Alert

International Women's Partnership for Peace and Justice

Women Building Peace

Security Council Resolution 1325

Publications
Toolkits
Websites

Publications
Securing Equality, Engendering Peace: a guide to policy and planning on women, peace and security (SCR 1325)
UN-INSTRAW, September 2006

UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security

From Local to Global: Making Peace Work for Women
Security Council Resolution 1325- Five Years on Report by the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security, October 2005

Resolution 1325: From Rhetoric to Practice
International Peace Research Institute, Oslo (PRIO) and CARE Norway, 2005

How and when has Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) on Women, Peace and Security impacted negotiations outside the Security Council?
Felicity Hill, Master’s thesis, University of Uppsala, 2005

FACES: Women as Partners in Peace and Security
OSAGI, October 2004

Women, War, Peace: Independent Experts Assessment on the Impact of Armed Conflict on Women and the Role of Women in Peace Building
Elisabeth Rehn and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, 2002.

Women, Peace and Security
Study submitted by the Secretary-General pursuant to Security Council resolution 1325 (2000)

Toolkits
UNIFEM 1325 Toolkit
International Alert/Women Waging Peace Toolkit
UN-INSTRAW Global Directory of Gender, Peace and Security Research Institutions
PeaceWomen’s 1325 Advocacy and Education Tools

Websites
Initiative for Inclusive Security
Kvinna till Kvinna
UNIFEM Women, War, Peace
WomenWatch
WILPF PeaceWomen

 

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